Deprogramming
by Scarlet Eve
Summary: [Complete] Tucked away in old files, Heero discovers something about himself that Dr. J tried to hide, but made Heero who he was during the wars. But once the secret is discovered, already volatile world relations become worse, putting strain on the ESUN and those involved. Heero must stop it before the peace and structure Relena worked to create comes crumbling down.
1. Prologue

Deprogramming

Prologue: Lost Recordings

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_/February twentieth, after colony one nine one - The following procedure was requested by Dekim Barton. An incident occurred during which Alpha expressed extreme remorse and sadness to an unfortunate accident. Barton believes that emotions in this boy will be his downfall. It was suggested to experiment using Alpha with the chip that has been under development for some time. It is thought that after this procedure is complete and the adjustment period has taken place, the boy will not feel the same sting of emotions as normal people. It will also increase his endurance and strength./_

_/February twenty second, after colony one nine one - The installation has been complete. Currently, Alpha is still under sedation. I imagine that it will take his body several weeks to adjust to the chip, during which time we will monitor his vitals and begin the tests./_

_/March first, after colony one nine one - The results are astounding! Alpha has had the chip for seven days, and already he is showing signs of super-human abilities. His senses are heightened dramatically, and he is already exhibiting increased strength and concentration. Even after the most grueling tasks, his heart rate only increases by a small amount./_

_/June sixth, after colony one nine one - Perhaps this device is working too well. Alpha has become withdrawn from other human contact and tends to prefer solitude. Even so, his performance and intelligence continues to grow, as the device makes him more studious and focused on the task at hand. He has a strong proficiency for weapons, mechanics and strategy. But still, he rarely speaks. Perhaps after some time the effects will level out./_

_/November thirteenth, after colony one nine one - Alpha has begun to learn advanced battle tactics. As expected, he is learning rapidly and excelling at a fast pace. After a year, he has already bypassed the control subjects, even those who are older and have been training longer. It really is remarkable. I believe this boy will be the key to piloting our precious Wing./_

_/December second, after colony one nine one - Something happened today that has both disgusted me and inspired me. During training, Alpha made a slight miscalculation and broke his arm. He simply sat up and using his legs and other arm, set the bone back in place and simply wrapped the arm in a stiff bandage. I have never seen anything like it. And he did not make a sound except for a grunt of effort. Truly remarkable./_

_/June fifth, after colony one nine two - I have introduced Alpha to the Wing. Initial tests show he has a high aptitude for piloting the suit, as expected. Training will continue, and when all are ready, Operation Meteor will commence./_

_/April first, after colony one nine five - Alpha, under the codename Heero Yuy, will pilot Wing to Earth, along with the other four. Should Alpha survive this mission, he will go undercover as a student. I can feel that the tides of government will be changing./_

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A/N: I have been struggling to write something worth putting up here, so I hope you'll like this story! I've been working on it for a while. :-)

-SE


	2. Chapter 1

Deprogramming

Chapter 1

-Scarlet Eve

A/N: I'm bad at keeping chapters from you guys, and pretty want to post most of my stuff all at once. :-D Anyway, here's chapter 1!

* * *

**October, A.C. 201**

_Trowa_

Trowa sat at his desk with large pieces of paper spread out in front of him. There were several stick figures drawn out, and he was using a pencil to erase and redraw some of the figures. The Ringleader had finally asked him to come up with a new act for the circus, but demanded that it didn't involve mobile suits. He was lost in concentration while trying to image this new routine and draw it out at the same time, when his vid-phone began to ring. Not really in any hurry to answer, he pushed his chair away from his desk, spun, and pulled himself towards the vid-phone. He pressed a button and a familiar face appeared on the screen. It was Relena's chauffeur.

"Hello Robert," Trowa said.

"Hello Mr. Barton. I'm sorry to trouble you- again- but the Foreign Minister seems to have run off," Robert said, pressing a hand to his face in exasperation. "I wish she wouldn't do this all the time," he added. Trowa nodded.

"I will go bring her home safely. Take the rest of the night off. I'll keep an eye on her," Trowa said. Robert looked grateful, and said good bye. Trowa disconnected the line and rose from the chair. He glanced out the window of his trailer and saw that a light rain was falling. He grabbed a long trench coat out of the closet and headed out the door.

Catherine was nearby, practicing her balancing on the wet grass. She lifted a hand in greeting, her leg remaining perfectly steady. "Where are you going?" she called.

"Relena," Trowa said. Catherine nodding knowingly, then resumed her practice. She hopped up with the foot she was balancing on and switched to the other foot without a single wobble, then stretched her arms out and began to turn in the soft grass. Trowa smiled at her, then continued on to his car. He climbed in the driver's seat and turned the car on and drove it out to the main road.

The rain pattered lightly against the windshield, causing an annoying smear of water when the wipers slid across the glass. The music on the radio was classical, and turned low. It was always calming to Trowa to listen to it, and usually helped him to prepare for the volcanic Relena. He hoped that this time she was only smoldering and not ready to blow. As he drove, he mused about the few places that Relena could be. She didn't tend to vary her disappearance locations. He decided to try the place that she frequented most often: a seedy bar along a mostly abandoned stretch of town. He turned down the increasingly familiar street and drove slowly, looking for a parking spot along the road. He soon found a spot between a large truck and a small sedan, and Trowa swiftly parallel parked into the spot.

He climbed out of the car and pulled the collar of his trench coat up around his ears. The rain was coming down more steadily now, forming little puddles in the concaves of the sidewalk. Trowa stepped over one such puddle towards a wooden door, the paint peeling and flaking, pushed the door in and stepped inside out of the rain. Trowa disapproved of this location, but she never seemed to have problems when she came there. The sign overhead read "The Soldier's Bar." Trowa's eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom of the establishment, and he immediately saw Relena sitting at the bar, an empty shot glass and some kind of fruity looking martini in front of her. She was resting her elbow on the bar, and her hand cupped her chin, and she appeared to be staring off into space. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders and past her breast. Trowa frowned. She didn't take much care to disguise herself this time, but at least no one was bothering her. Trowa crossed the bar and stood beside her.

It was a moment before Relena noticed him. She turned her head towards him and groaned.

"What?" she asked. Trowa arched his eyebrows. "What?" she said again, and more insistently. Trowa just continued to stare at her. Finally, she groaned again, dug out some bills from her purse and tossed them on the bar. Before standing up, she downed the rest of her martini, and stood up from the stool. Trowa shook his head slightly, but she wasn't paying any attention to him. She pulled her long coat on over her shoulders and buttoned it up to her chin, threw her purse strap over her shoulder and looked up at him expectantly.

"I'm ready," she said. Trowa nodded and waited for her to walk ahead of him. He followed behind her out of the bar, his hand trailing lightly on her lower back to keep her from trying to run off. Once outside, Relena spoke.

"Robert called you again, didn't he?" she asked. Trowa nodded. He wasn't going to scold her this time. She'd heard it enough times, and would usually finish his sentences for him. "That man is insufferable. I should fire him," she said, a bit of a whine creeping into her voice.

"I'm sorry Relena, but I'm just doing what Heero asked me to do," Trowa said. Relena snorted in a very unladylike way.

"Heero," she mumbled. Trowa opened the passenger door to his car for her, and she climbed inside. Trowa climbed in the driver's side and started up the engine again.

"He just wants you to be safe," Trowa said. Relena shrugged her shoulders.

"For all we know, he's blown to bits out in space," Relena said, her expression dark. Trowa flinched.

"Don't say that Relena. It's not true," he said.

"I don't know that," she said, then turned her head away. That was her way of ending the conversation. Trowa heaved a sigh and pulled the car out of the parking spot and began driving towards Relena's home.

* * *

_Three Years Ago_

Trowa got the call in the middle of the night. He was woken up from a dead sleep when his vid-phone began to ring. He climbed out of bed, hoping it wasn't a disaster of some kind. When he pressed the button to make the connection, Heero's face appeared. He looked worn and tired, with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a mess and his clothes rumpled.

"Heero, what is it?" Trowa asked, feeling a sense of urgency creeping up his spine. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I need you do to me a big favor," Heero said.

"Anything," Trowa said.

"I need you to keep an eye on Relena for me," he said. Trowa raised an eyebrow in surprise. He frowned.

"Why?"

"I'm going away for a while. To space," he said. For a moment, it seemed that was all Heero was going to disclose. But he began to speak again. "I have been decrypting Dr. J's old archives. I found some information pertaining to... my training. I have to go see if any of the information is true."

"Even in death, Dr. J is still controlling lives. That man is like a damn cockroach," Trowa said.

Heero nodded. "I believe that what I found might be important to my adjustment to peace. Zero is involved as well."

"Zero?" Heero nodded, but his mouth remained closed. It seemed that Trowa was not going to get any other information out of Heero. "I see," Trowa replied. "So you need me to watch out for Relena. Don't you think she'll be alright on her own?"

"She has a habit of getting herself into trouble," Heero said with a slight smile on his face. Trowa let out a laugh.

"True, but how long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. But this is necessary. I'm sure Relena is going to be angry at me when she finds out that I'm gone," Heero said.

"Are you even going to tell her?

"I left a note." Both men were silent for a moment. Trowa was processing the information from Heero.

"I'll grant you this favor," Trowa said. "Provided that you return."

"Thank you. I want her to be okay when I return-" he paused for a moment. "Everything I do from now on is for her." Trowa had to suppress the urge to be very surprised. He controlled his facial features to remain neutral. He knew this admission by Heero was a rare one, and he didn't want to break that level of trust they'd developed.

"Of course," Trowa said finally. Heero thanked him and cut the connection. Trowa leaned back in his chair and mused about the situation for a while. Trowa could feel how angry Relena would be when Heero turned up missing. Heero had been periodically staying with Relena, and everyone thought they'd resolved their issues and would eventually come together as a whole. But it seemed all that effort would be for naught. Heero was going to disappear again, and Relena would not take it well.

Trowa was not there when Relena found the note from Heero. He heard about it from Quatre, who heard from Noine, Relena's primary confidant. Apparently Relena went into somewhat of a rage over it, but eventually calmed down after she locked herself in her bedroom and sobbed for a few hours. Sources who witnessed the event said that she was upset because she was afraid that he was going to either kill someone or kill himself, and there was nothing she could do it about. She spent a couple of weeks grilling everyone for information, but it became apparent that no one knew anything, except for Trowa of course. But he wouldn't tell her anything except that he was asked to keep an eye on her.

Quatre had also received a copy of the text of the letter, forwarded to him by Noine. Quatre forwarded this onto Trowa. Heero basically told her nothing about what he was doing, just that he was going away for a while and to not worry. Typical Heero.

Relena gave up her efforts to find him pretty quickly, a change from her previous efforts during the war. She fell into a sullen mood for a long time, but was careful to hide it. On the outside, she continued to succeed as the Vice Foreign Minister, and when she turned twenty, she was promoted the position of Foreign Minister. But behind closed doors, she was almost a different person. The smile flashed less often, and her eyes remained lowered and sad. It was a sort of depression that settled over her like a thick blanket, and most times, it was difficult to rouse her from that state. Trowa assumed that's why she took to sneaking out to seedy bars. It was her way of rebelling against Heero, who had made a habit of keeping Relena from anything that could potentially be dangerous. Trowa wanted to tell Relena that Heero was alright, but he didn't know for sure, either. A few times, he'd tried to get in touch with Heero, but was unsuccessful each time.

Now his life for the last several years has been composed of working for the circus and pulling Relena from places where she should never go without some kind of bodyguard. He didn't mind. He knew that Relena was lonely and needed a friend around that wasn't part of her staff. But as more and more time passed, he saw her losing faith in Heero ever returning, and it made him afraid that when Heero did return, that she wouldn't take him back. Trowa had always been one to believe that Heero and Relena needed each other, but now Trowa was beginning to feel that things would never be the same again.

It didn't help that his own feelings were beginning to get in the way as well...

* * *

-SE


	3. Chapter 2

**Deprogramming**

**Chapter 2**

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_January, A.C. 199_

_Heero_

It has been three months since Heero disappeared from Earth to return to L1. When he arrived at the old training facility and laboratory of Dr. J, he found it silent and coated with dust. Several machines and computers were destroyed, most likely by Dr. J, in an attempt to keep anyone from discovering any unsavory secrets about what kind of things went on there.

But Dr. J clearly didn't anticipate that Heero would ever come back to the lab, otherwise he would have been smart and burned the place down. Nothing could hide from him. So after three months, he'd managed to collect a stockpile of folders, disks, hard drives and recordings pertaining to the time that Heero spent with Dr. J.

The recordings were the most important discovery. Several audio clips made by Dr. J about some procedure that was done to Alpha, who was of course, Heero. The recordings detail the research and development of a small chip, to be implanted inside of a human, suppressing normal human emotions and drawing out abilities that are useful in war, thereby creating a "super soldier." The recordings made mention of the chip being implanted inside of Heero, though he was unable to recall any memories of such a procedure.

He would have to keep digging.

* * *

_October, A.C. 201_

_Trowa_

Trowa stopped his car outside of the Darlian estate. The rain was falling even harder now; large drops splattered over the car and the road, creating a loud din of noise. Trowa put the car in park and shut off the engine. He waited.

The two sat in silence for a while. Finally, Relena let out a long sigh and glanced at Trowa.

"Thank you for the ride home," she said. She was fidgeting with her purse, which was sitting in her lap. Trowa nodded.

"Do you want company?" he asked her. Relena shook her head.

"Not tonight," she replied. She looked back out the window and pulled her coat tighter around herself.

"Relena..." Trowa began, but trailed off when he realized he had no idea what he wanted to say to her. There were so many things, but none of them seemed appropriate.

"I'll talk to you later," Relena said. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then pulled the handle of the door and stepped outside into the rain. She slammed the door shut and hurried up the steps to the front door.

Trowa watched her disappear inside, and then sighed himself. He'd been feeling the situation slipping through his fingers for several months now. She was becoming more withdrawn, even from him. And if Heero _did_ return...

Trowa drove back to his trailer at the circus. The rain had not bothered to let up. When he arrived, he had to trudge his way through the damp grass, his shoes leaving temporary prints in the soaking dirt. When he got inside, he called Quatre.

"Hello Trowa," Quatre said, a large smile on his face. "How is it going?"

"Fine. Had to pick up Relena again today," he said. Quatre sighed.

"Where was she this time?"

"That Soldier's Bar place," Trowa said. Quatre shook his head.

"It's not safe," he said.

"She doesn't listen."

"And you haven't heard from Heero at all?" Trowa shook his head. "I'm worried about her. I honestly didn't think that she would take it this hard, or that he'd be gone this long."

"She believes him to be, and I quote, "blown to bits out in space,"" Trowa said.

"He's going to have a rough time with her when he returns," Quatre said.

"Most likely," Trowa said.

"Well I've got to be going. Do what you can with her. I believe the annual Fall Ball is coming up, so perhaps we can get her to have a good time with that," Quatre said.

"Perhaps. Bye Quatre."

"Bye."

* * *

_June, A.C. 199_

_Heero_

Heero was using the large screen in the control room to view the new data he'd discovered. On the screen was a large diagram of his body, though smaller and less developed. His fourteen year old body. Heero shifted through the images, inspecting each one as it passed by. In his gut, he knew he was close to some kind of answer. He'd already found a file of some complex programming that he'd not yet bothered to try and decode.

More information about the chip had been uncovered, and Heero was beginning to connect some dots together, but there were still conflicts. Surely, the emotion suppressing had worked on him, due to his near inability to live by his own advice. And the strength, agility, and recovery abilities were strong within him - memories resurfaced of setting his own bones, performing feats that no one else could, and surviving when others would have perished.

A picture showing the back of Heero's head, neck and shoulders appeared on the screen. Heero squinted at the picture. On the left side of his neck, in the back, was a small marking. Heero rose from his place on the floor and stepped up to the large screen, trying to get a better look. It was a small black object, resting a few inches away from his spinal chord. Heero frowned and reached out to touch the black spot on the screen, then reached to his neck and felt around with his fingers. After pressing and sliding his fingers around, he located the device. It was a small, square shaped object somewhere below his skin. When he tried, he could distinctly feel the outline of the object.

"What did you do to me?" Heero asked the empty room.

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A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews!

-SE


	4. Chapter 3

Deprogramming  
Chapter 3

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_October, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

Relena was pacing, as she was apt to do lately. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she walked back and forth along the same path in her home office. The carpet was already beginning to show signs of wear. Her extreme restlessness kept her from standing still for too long, and if required, her hands would usually begin to twitch, and she would end up playing with a pen or doodling- something she never used to do when she was younger.

When Heero left, she spent much of her time brooding about him. But as the years past and his silence grew louder, she began to slowly let him go from her mind. She told herself in the beginning that she would hold on, that her love for him was too strong to falter. It soon became clear to her that this was not true. For a time, she also tried to convince herself that it was the manner of his leaving that was causing her to stop feeling for him, but she knew this wasn't true either.

The sad truth that she'd come to accept in the last year was that Heero was gone on some mission, and was most likely dead. The day she told herself this, and actually accepted it as truth, she'd stood outside in the rain and let him go from her heart. It was better this way, she would tell herself. She couldn't allow herself to hurt for the rest of her life, just because he was gone.

This time, Relena was brooding about the ball that was coming up at the end of the month. The current President of the ESUN started it, partially to celebrate his birthday. But the man loved parties, and threw them whenever he could. Relena was beginning to only tolerate them by now. However, because of "Service to the World for Helping to Instill Peace," the former Gundam pilots were invited every year, along with their dates, under the guise of being regular soldiers in the military. So at least her friends would be there. Then of course, a few months from then, would be the Eve Wars Remembrance events, which Relena was always expected to attend, for being an integral part of both wars. At least her friends were always invited to those events as well.

A light knock at the door pulled Relena from her thoughts. She crossed the floor to open the door. Pagan's nurse was standing on the other side.

"Good evening ma'am. Pagan was wondering if you would like to have tea with him," she said. Relena smiled.

"Of course," she replied, and followed the nurse through the home to Pagan's rooms. His health had been in decline as of late, and since he did not have any other family, Relena kept him well cared for in her home. When she arrived at his rooms, he was propped up in his bed. A table already held the essentials for tea, with a tea pot, cups and a few snacks. Pagan smiled brightly at her when she walked in the door.

"Thank you for taking up my offer, Miss Relena," he said, his voice weak with the effort. Relena shook her head.

"I would never pass it up," she said. She took a seat beside the bed and poured a cup of tea for Pagan and handed it up to him. She poured one for herself and settled back in her chair.

"I heard you snuck off again," Pagan said. Relena glanced away.

"Yes," she said. She felt like an insolent child whenever Pagan spoke to her that way.

"Three years is a long time to be so moody, Relena," Pagan said. Relena looked up at him. She wasn't expecting that comment.

"I-" Pagan cut her off.

"I can understand you being upset that Mr. Yuy took off, but you must not let it affect you this much. I thought you'd get over it after a few months, but this mood of yours has persisted for too long. You are putting yourself in danger as well," he said. He had to stop, as he was breathing deeply at the effort of scolding the young woman. Relena took a deep breath herself, and let herself say the words she'd been trying to convince herself of for a long time.

"I know that I have not been acting like an adult," she said. "It's not just that he left. It's many things," she said. Pagan raised his eyebrows, indicating for her to continue. "I miss my friends, I miss my brother and Noine. Aside from you and Trowa when he comes to pick me up, I feel lonely," she said. Pagan nodded. "It's hard to make new friends when people only see you as the Foreign Minister and are too afraid to say anything to you," she added.

Pagan reached out to her and took her hand in his. "I can understand that, Relena," he said.

"Before he disappeared again, we were developing something akin to friendship, and I thought everything would be fine, but then..." She trailed off, looking away. "Is it silly to be so upset about all this?" she asked. Pagen looked at her with sympathy.

"It is not silly, Relena. I know you had strong feelings for Heero Yuy. But there are many people out there who could make you happy," Pagen said, though the look in his eyes told Relena that he only partially believed his own words. "Besides, you are so young and your life has revolved around politics. You should be out living a normal life, but you're stuck here," he finished with a smile.

"I must be the only person in the world who loves her job with all her heart but has a crappy social life," Relena said, pouting a bit. Pagan laughed, which sounded more like a wheeze.

"This is your chance to continue to make yourself into a strong, independant woman. There are young girls all over the world who look up to you. It is a lot of pressure to be a role model, but if anyone can do it, you can. You will be alright, whatever happens down the road," Pagan said. "Have some fun with life, even if people are too afraid to speak to you as anything other than the Foreign Minister."

"Thank you Pagan," Relena said. "You always know how to make me feel better." Relena gave his hand a squeeze and smiled, and soon, Pagan was drifting off to sleep. Relena carefully took the tea cup from his hand and set it beside him on the table. She watched his sleeping form for a moment longer before quietly leaving his room.

* * *

_February, A.C. 200  
_

_Heero_

Everyday, Heero would reach up and touch the little square in his neck, then resume his research.

He managed to uncover a plethora of information that he thought might be lost or destroyed- about Operation Meteor, about key figures during the wars, about Zero, and about the little device in his neck.

Dr. J had been developing a chip for a long time, one that would turn regular humans into super humans, with heightened senses, increased strength, and the most important part- suppressed emotions in order to make them better soldiers on the battlefield. Dr. J continued to work on it until Barton asked Heero to be the first test subject. After the operation, all research and development of the chip came to a halt. From what Heero could discern from the rantings of Dr. J, he was afraid of the results. He thought it was working too well. That Heero had become too much of a "Perfect Soldier." And it scared the old man.

Which was why Dr. J did not go along with the original Operation Meteor. He knew that if Heero were released out into the world with that mission in mind, it would surely have been completed to its fullest extent. So Dr. J changed his mind, contacted his peers, and set the Gundam Pilots out with a different mission, one that would result in better outcomes for the good of the Earth and Colonies.

The most unsettling part of the chip, Heero discovered, was that much the the programming matched the programming of the Zero system. Heero was, in a sense, Zero. The thought made his stomach churn.

At night, he lay in bed thinking about the people he'd brought into his own circle over the years: the other Gundam pilots, Relena, the girls, Zechs- even if they were still rivals, Noine, Une...

Heero realized that at any time, he could have slipped up and killed them all. He had tried to kill Relena many times, but she was like a signal jam: she always left him confused and unable to complete his missions.

He spent several months trying to decide whether or not he wanted to remove the chip from his neck. He knew it might be dangerous, but he was also insanely curious about what would happen if it was gone. And he also considered what would happen if he couldn't handle his own emotions without being controlled. He was essentially afraid of going ballistic.

His resolve was made up when he was trying to relax one evening, watching the news. Relena was there, making a speech. Heero couldn't help but notice the sad look on her face while she spoke, that her cheekbones stood out on her face, and the circles under her eyes that could never really be covered by makeup. When her speech was over, she was approached by a man, who took her hands and kissed her cheek, while the crowd cheered for her.

Heero didn't know who that man was or why he was touching Relena, but Heero knew that he should be the one with her. He made up his mind. He couldn't linger here in Dr. J's old files much longer.

* * *

-SE


	5. Chapter 4

Deprogramming  
Chapter 4

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_November, A.C. 201_

_Trowa_

A few weeks had gone by and Trowa hadn't been called by Robert to go find Relena. After a performance a few weeks later, he had a bad feeling in his chest, and he couldn't stop thinking about Relena. After trying to ignore the feeling for a while, he finally decided to go check up on her. He put on a pair of pants and pulled his long trench coat over his clothes to keep out the night chill. As he was leaving, Catherine was walking across the grass towards him.

"Are you off to rescue Relena?" she asked.

"No, I just have a bad feeling. I'm going to check up on her," he said.

"I'll come with you," she said. Trowa nodded, and the two of them climbed into his car. They drove away from the circus and towards Relena's home.

When they arrived, there were many lights on, shining through the windows. The two of them climbed out of the car and quickly climbed the steps. When Trowa knocked on the door, it was opened almost immediately by the doorman. Seems he had been waiting by the door.

"Master Trowa, Miss Catherine," he said with a nod of his head. "We are having a rough night tonight."

"What's going on?" Trowa said, his anxiety mounting.

"Pagan, Relena's old butler and companion, has had heart failure. We are waiting on the ambulance to arrive," he said. Trowa and Catherine blinked at the man, then sprinted past him and up the steps. Trowa led the way through the halls until he arrived at the area where Pagan's rooms were. After they turned a corner, they saw Relena pacing down the hallway.

"Relena," he called, slowing to a walk when he neared her. She looked up and saw her two friends. Her face was red and blotchy from crying. Trowa held his arms out to her, and she ran to him.

"Oh Trowa," she cried into his shoulder. Trowa's hand automatically went up to her head and his other arm around her waist. Her chest was heaving through her sobs. Catherine placed her arms around Relena as well. Trowa wanted to say something to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say. He figured it would be best if he just let her cry. As they stood in the hallway, a young woman in nurse's scrubs stepped out of the room. She looked distraught, and she too, had tears in her eyes.

"Miss Relena," she said quietly. Relena let go of Trowa and Catherine to turn around. "He's gone," she said.

"No..." Relena said quietly. She brushed past the nurse into Pagan's room. Trowa and Catherine followed and watched her from the doorway. She had laid herself down over his chest, holding one of his hands in hers. Her shoulders were heaving again as the sobs renewed themselves. The nurse brushed past Trowa and stepped into the room. She laid a hand on Relena's shoulder, and the two women shared their sorrow.

* * *

_November, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

It rained the day of the funeral. The sky was an endless slate of gray, and the lack of wind meant the rain fell straight down from the clouds. But the rain was cold, and smelled of fall and the forthcoming snow.

Trowa and Catherine attended it with Relena. Her other friends were unable to make arrangements with such short notice. And many of the people who had known Pagan during his life were already gone. Because of his attachment to Relena, a few smaller news crews and reporters showed up, however, they kept a respectable distance from Relena and the others. The small congregation collected in the first few pews of the small, stone church, a short distance outside of the city limits of Brussels. His casket was covered in flowers, which were damp from the pouring rain.

During the ceremony, Relena tried her best to hold back her sorrow. She made a speech about him, about his life and of his service to her and her family. A few others who had known him spoke as well. Relena did her very best to put up a thick, iron wall around herself, to keep others from seeing her emotions.

It wasn't until they were lowering his casket into the grave that Relena allowed herself to cry. Trowa and Catherine both wrapped their arms around her to give her comfort, while Relena's driver, Robert, held a large umbrella over the four of them. When the men who lowered the casket backed away from the hole, Relena stepped forward out of her friends' embrace and into the rain. She stood at the edge of the grave, staring down at the gleaming casket, which was already becoming criss crossed by trailed of mud and rain. She tossed down a handful of flowers. Others stepped up around her to toss in handfuls of dirt and flowers as well, as they committed him to his eternal resting place. Relena stepped back and brushed her face with the back of her hand, though she was wasn't sure if the wetness were tears, or just the rain.

Trowa and Catherine led her away from the grave as the funeral attendees began to disperse. Relena and Catherine's heels sank into the wet mud, making the slow walk more painful than necessary. Finally, they reached the car and Trowa helped both women into the limo. He climbed in after them and shut the door. Robert shook out the umbrella the best he could, and slipped into the driver's seat.

"Want to go home?" Trowa asked. Relena shook her head.

"I want to go have a drink," she said. Relena heard Trowa and Robert sigh, but without a word, Robert started the engine, and drove the small group towards The Solder's Bar.

When they arrived, the three of them, rain soaked and slightly muddy, stepped into the bar. It was warm and smelled slightly musty inside. Relena led the three of them to the bar. She didn't notice that everyone in the bar was staring openly at her. She sat down on her regular stool and leaned forward. Catherine and Trowa flanked her on either side. The bartender, a woman, walked down the bar and stood in front of Relena.

"I was real sorry to hear what happened to your friend, Miss Relena," she said. Relena smiled sadly.

"Thank you Marie," Relena said.

"I'll bring the three of you drinks, on the house," she said. Relena thanked her again, and soon, there were a couple of drinks on the table in front of them. Marie set out four shot glasses and filled them with some top shelf whiskey. The four of them clinked the shot glasses together as Marie said, "To life after loved ones are gone." The four knocked back the shot and set the glasses down on the counter. The unfamiliar taste of whiskey burned down Relena's throat, making her wince. But right now, it was the kind of burning she needed to stay grounded.

* * *

-SE


	6. Chapter 5

Deprogramming  
Chapter 5

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_November 30, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

Relena was hiding. It had been hard enough for her to wake up that day, and to dress and prepare for the Fall Ball. The last thing she wanted to do was attend a party, full of people who could talk endlessly for hours, about nothing in particular. She didn't want to be asked about Mars, or any of the other projects she was working on. She didn't want to participate in idle gossip about other members of the government. She just wanted to go home, put her pajamas back on, and crawl into bed for days.

She'd found herself still reeling from the death of Pagan. She had been so absorbed in her own life that she barely noticed how much he did for her, or near the end, how much he delegated to the nurse who took care of him. Simple things, such as laying out the proper coat for the day, bringing her tea when she was lost in her work, and in general, keeping the house spotless. Relena knew she had to hire a housekeeper, but the thought made her cringe. Much of her had no desire to bring another new person into her life. Not so soon, anyway.

"Hey there, princess," a friendly voice said to her. Relena shook herself out of her thoughts and glanced up. Duo, dressed in a tuxedo, and actually looking put together, was pressed up against the wall beside her. Relena had found a drape which matched her dress, red and orange, so it was easy to blend in. Duo acted like he was hiding, when in reality, he just looked silly.

"Duo," Relena said. He handed her a glass of wine. "Thank you."

"You aren't quite as good at hiding in the shadows as our friends. For one thing, you're not even in the shadows," Duo said, taking a casual leaning stance against the wall, holding his own beverage in his hand.

"I wasn't-" she began to say, but the look Duo gave her cut her off. "Fine, I guess I'm not as practiced." She knew he was referring to Heero, but Duo, out of friendship, wouldn't mention his name.

"Sorry I couldn't make it here for Pagan's funeral," Duo said. Relena shrugged her shoulders.

"I understand," she replied. "It has been an… adjustment." Duo nodded sympathetically. She heaved a sigh and continued. "The circus is packing up soon to tour some warmer places, which means Trowa and Cathy will be gone… the estate is going to be so lonely."

"Maybe you should move into the city, someplace smaller and more manageable," Duo suggested. "I'm sure there are a lot of great places to live there, closer to work and all that." This was an option Relena hadn't really considered. Close up the estate and move into the city? It seemed like a plausible idea.

"I'll have to think about that," she said, taking a sip of her wine.

"It'd probably make the rest of us feel better than you weren't way out there by yourself," Duo added. Relena's eyes narrowed, and she glanced up at Duo. He was looking away from her, an extremely guilty look on his face.

"Let me guess…." she began, "this topic has been discussed before, amongst you all?" Duo scratched the back of his head, a nervous gesture.

"Well… Zechs and Noin were going to bring it up anyway when they come visit for the holidays, and Zechs was gonna force you to do it, so I figured I'd make it seem like you'd already decided. Zechs is a little scary when he really wants you to do something," Duo said, his words coming quickly. "Like not telling you about this potential move…" he tacked on at the end, as if it were the last secret he was keeping and just needed to get it off his chest.

Relena huffed. "Zechs can't make me do anything. I'm a grown woman." Duo gave her a skeptical look. "Not true, huh?"

"Nu-uh. Sure, you've got him wrapped around your finger in some cases, but about this, he'd put his foot down," Duo said. He hooked his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry princess. Everything will work itself out. Now come on, go dance with Trowa. One look from him will scare away any other jackass who might wanna cut in." Relena couldn't help it; she giggled, and allowed herself to be pulled away from her hiding spot and back into the party.

_Trowa_

Trowa watched as Duo and Relena emerged from being half hidden behind a curtain against the wall. The other pilot seemed to have a sixth sense about Relena, a sense that might even rival Heero's. He know there was no romance between the two, just some kind of platonic, sibling affection. Even now, Duo was walking with his arm around her shoulders, laughing and joking with her. Trowa couldn't help but feel a bit envious about their easy-going relationship. Although he supposed that it was Duo's personality that made him so easy to like, most of the time anyway.

Even though Relena had not wanted to attend the ball, she still looked beautiful. She wore a long, sparkling dress of hues of orange and red. She looked like fallen leaves. Around her throat was a string of orange and red gems. When she smiled, as she was doing now, her entire being seemed to shimmer and gleam.

"Hey Trowa!" Duo said, hailing him with a wave of the arm. "Relena needs to have some fun! Dance with her!" She smiled at him, and he gave her a small smile back. With a dramatic flair, Trowa bowed, one arm over his abdomen, and the other extended out, his typical circus bow. As he rose, he swept his arm out in front of him, offering his hand to Relena. She giggled, and took his head. With another dramatic sweep, he pulled her away from the group and out onto the dancefloor.

"I see Duo cheered you up?" Trowa asked, taking Relena's hand in his own, and in a graceful step, joined the other dancing couples.

"Oh a little. He informed me that some of my friends have been talking about me behind my back," she said, smiling sweetly. Trowa's lip twitched.

"The move?" he asked, and she nodded. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I understand the concern," Relena said. "It makes sense, I suppose, to relocate to the city center." Trowa nodded his agreement, though he could tell in her eyes that the idea was not quite what she wanted. Was there anything, Trowa wondered, that she truly wanted anymore?

They danced in silence, moving to the three beat waltz being played by the orchestra. The President was wandering the party, speaking with people. Trowa tried to lead Relena around, to help her avoid a confrontation with him. A few times, Trowa looked into Relena's face, to make eye contact, but her gaze was far off, probably not even on Earth anymore.

"Relena," Trowa said quietly, drawing her attention back to him. "About the troop relocation…"

She sighed, tilting her head, causing a lock of hair to fall over her shoulder.

"I'll be fine, Trowa, like I am every year," she said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"I know, but…" Relena raised her eyebrow, silently daring him to keep talking. "Without Pagan…"

The hurt in her eyes was immediately apparent, and Trowa regretted his words. She looked away, and he felt her grip on his hand and shoulder loosen. Trowa tightened his own grip on her, to keep her from leaving the dance.

"Please Relena, don't take this the wrong way," Trowa said, pleading. "You just can't keep rebelling against someone who isn't here." He tried to keep his voice as level as possible, but it had the worst kind of effect on Relena. Her face flushed with anger, and her eyes flashed. The delicate worry line between her eyebrows appeared. Without breaking appearances, she released him and stepped away, swept her skirts out in a curtsey, and said,

"Thank you for the dance, Mr. Barton." In a flash of flaming fabric, she disappeared.

* * *

_December 5, A.C. 201_

_Heero_

After much deliberation, Heero finally made up his mind to remove the chip. He had dealt with problems worse than trying to control emotions, and he was confident that he could handle it. After formulating a spotty plan, he set to work.

He picked out the sharpest knife possible from the abandoned mess hall, and ripped a couple of mirrors off the walls of the bathrooms. He set them up on the floor of the lab, giving him a near 360 degrees view of himself. He found several sheets and towels, and took his seat in the middle of the ring of mirrors.

Heero felt with his fingers along the back of his neck until he could feel the outline of the chip. He pressed along one edge until he was sure of the location, then lifted the knife up with his other hand and gently slipped the knife through his skin. He winced, but he kept going, making a careful slice down his neck, always watching his work in the mirrors. Blood began to pour down his neck and onto his back. His hand he used to guide the knife was soon slick with warm blood. He continued to ignore the pain.

Cutting through the muscle was much more difficult. And much more painful. But he could tell, through the blood and the skin, that he was getting closer to the chip. After making a little headway, he stopped and used a nearby towel to mop up some of the blood from his neck. He only had a clear view for a moment, before the blood continued to trickle. Grunting, he continued to cut through the taut muscle of his neck.

The knife reached the bottom corner of the chip, and Heero dropped the knife at his side, breathing heavily. He picked up a towel and pressed it against the back of his neck, attempting to staunch the bleeding. Pain radiated from his neck, up into his head and down his back. He was beginning to feel worried about what would really happen to him when he removed the chip. There had been nothing in Dr. J's notes and old files about the possibility of removal. Heero supposed that Dr. J truely did not expect him to live this long…

After a moment, Heero dropped the bloodied towel and wiped the knife off until it was nearly clean. Taking a deep breath, Heero lifted the knife back up, and felt with his other hand, through the opening in his skin and muscle, until his finger felt the sharp, metal edge of the chip. He hesitated for a moment, but tried to bring up Relena in his mind. He was doing this for her. Another deep breath, and Heero plunged the knife in the opening on his neck and wedged the tip of the knife under the edge of the chip. A spasm rocked through his body, nearly causing him to drop his knife, but he held on.

It was then that Heero realized he had no idea how the thing was attached to his body. Heero looked around the mirrors, panicked, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't stop now. He closed his eyes, released the air in his lungs, and jerked down on the handle of the knife.

Heero's vision went red, and his body went numb. There was a soft sucking noise, then something clattered on the floor. Blood was pouring freely now from the wound on his neck. Heero blinked, trying to clear his vision. He picked up another towel, not feeling the fabric on his fingers, and pressed it once more to his neck. Gently, he turned himself around until he was looking at the knife and a small, silver chip that lay next to each other on the floor. Both were covered in his blood.

His stomach roiled, and he heaved, the contents of his stomach splashing over the tile floor. The world went black as he passed out.

When Heero woke up, his mouth tasted of iron. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he could see a putrid mixture of blood and vomit on the floor. The blood was already sticky as it dried. Heero tried to sit up, but his body felt numb and heavy. When he inhaled, his lungs burned with the effort. He rolled himself onto his stomach and forced his body up. Little by little, he made it to his knees, then to his feet.

Without thinking much, Heero walked himself to the nearest hospital.

* * *

A/N: Hope everyone had a great new year! And thank you all for your continued support!

-SE


	7. Chapter 6

Deprogramming  
Chapter 6

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 7, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

Relena stood at the large window of her office, staring out at the rain. If the temperature had dropped more, it would be snowing, but as it was, the weather still resembled fall. Lately, the rain had been reminding her of Pagan, the funeral, and the emptiness that lingered in the estate. With a sigh, Relena allowed a few tears to escape. They rolled down her cheeks and dripped off her jawbone onto her blouse.

But Pagan wasn't the only thing bothering her these days. The bitter way she left the Fall Ball, after her short conversation with Trowa, had been nagging at her. She hadn't spoken to him since that night, when she'd stormed off and left the party without a word to anyone. The following morning, she'd received a visit from Duo and Hilde, but Relena wasn't in a mood to be social. But they'd stayed, forcing their company on her until she at least had some wine and relaxed for a little while. Nothing about Trowa or Heero was mentioned.

She'd taken a few days to herself after that, working from home, spending a lot of time thinking about her past and her future. She thought she was finally ready to move on. Without Pagan, things would have to change. So why not change other things as well? Perhaps she should start dating. Or pick up some new hobbies, or maybe travel on diplomatic missions to countries she'd never seen. She was still young, and she had plenty of time to live. And perhaps, by moving into the city, she could develop some semblance of a social life. It was no use sulking off to seedy bars and making her drivers angry.

Relena smiled at her reflection. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. She lifted her hand to the glass of the window and pressed her palm against it. The glass was cool to her warm hands.

After her lengthy talks with Duo and Hilde the night after the ball, Relena finally decided to get a jump start on her search for a smaller, more manageable home, closer to the city. She'd found during her searches, that with the right amount of money, she could live anywhere. A few beautiful old buildings overlooking the Flower Carpet were available for rent. They were townhomes, narrow and tall, some four stories high, many updated with modern amenities without destroying the natural beauty of the architecture. She was seriously considering contacting one of the landlords to request a showing of a townhome.

The chirping of her phone pulled Relena from her thoughts. She reluctantly turned away from the window and stepped back to her desk. Her phone was on her desk, and the caller ID on the screen said, "God of Death." Relena knew she shouldn't let Duo get a hold of her phone.

Relena picked up the phone and answered the call.

"Duo, stop messing with my phone," Relena said without saying hello. On the other line, Duo laughed.

"Ah princess," he said. "I have some… news."

"News? Good or bad?" Relena asked. She sat back down in her leather chair.

"I suppose it depends," Duo said. "I got an odd call just a few minutes ago."

"Alright…?"

"Remember when I kept bugging Heero to let me be his emergency contact, and he finally did?" Duo asked, seemingly changing the subject.

"What does that have to do with-"

"I just got a call from the hospital on L1. Heero is there. They didn't say why, except that he lost a bit of blood and can't maintain consciousness."

Relena blinked. None of what Duo said made sense to her. She ran a hand over her forehead.

"What, Duo? I don't understand," Relena said.

"I'm on my way to L1. Gonna rent a shuttle and hop on over. If you want, I can call you again once I know what's up with Yuy," Duo said. Relena's mind was still whirling.

"Yeah, sure," she said slowly.

"Alrighty. Sit tight Princess. I'll try to bring you some better news," Duo said.

"Okay..." she said. Duo chirped a good bye and the line went dead. Slowly, Relena set her phone back down on her desk, staring at it.

What could it all mean? That Heero was still alive? Or at least was, for the last three years. And why was he in the hospital? On L1?

Frustrated and confused, Relena gathered her belongings and left her office.

"Damn it, Heero."

* * *

_December 8, A.C.201 - Ungodly hours of the morning_

_Trowa_

Trowa led the animals back to their cages in the large menagerie tent. Their last, late night show had ended, and soon, the circus would be packing up to move on to warmer climates. The constant rain had everyone uptight and cranky, including the animals, used to their dry, warm cages. They were fighting with Trowa so they wouldn't have to walk out in the rain. After much coaxing and promises of treats, the animals followed him obediently, sloshing through the soaking wet grass, which was quickly turning to mud.

Inside the menagerie, each creature went to their own cage and climbed inside, waiting to be fed. Trowa slipped off his wet raincoat and hung it up to drip dry while he worked. Fresh hay, food, and water needed to be brought to each cage, so Trowa set to work. For a long time, he worked in silence, just listening to the sound of rain falling on the canvas tent. He allowed his mind to wander, thinking of new acts, new tricks to try or other shows the circus could put on. He'd found a certain niche for coming up with dark-themed shows, which only appealed to the late-night adult crowd. But those shows brought in good money, so the manager allowed Trowa to continue.

"Trowa!" A female voice cut through Trowa's thoughts. He stopped and looked up towards the entrance to the tent. It wasn't Catherine's voice, so the only other person it could be was-

Relena Darlian stepped through the tent flap. Trowa's eyebrows rose as he took in her appearance. She held her heels in one hand, and her nylons were completely covered in grass, mud, and now hay. Splatters of mud made it all the way up her legs and onto her skirt. Her long coat was open and soaking wet, and her hair hung down the side of her face, limp and also dripping.

And somehow the girl still looked beautiful.

"What are you doing here?" Trowa asked, stepping away from a cage and setting down the water bucket. Relena trotted across the tent to him, and she grabbed fist fulls of his shirt.

"Trowa! Duo called me at work," Relena began, her eyes wide, her lip trembling just slightly. "He said… he said that a hospital on L1 called him. Heero is there." Trowa blinked once, still staring down at the girl in front of him. Water droplets were falling from her bangs and sliding down her cheeks, almost like tears.

"Did he say why?" Trowa asked, his hands moving to rest on Relena's waist.

"Just that he had lost blood and couldn't remain conscious. What was he doing, Trowa? You must know something!" Relena cried to him. Trowa sighed. He was torn between the truth and a lie.

"All I know is that he was going to space to research some old files he'd found that once belonged to Dr. J," Trowa admitted. Relena's frown deepened, and a small wrinkle between her eyebrows appeared.

"What does that even mean?" she asked.

"I don't know, Relena," Trowa said. "He just told me... that everything he was doing from now on was for you. I don't know what he found up there or what he's been doing."

He watched her face transform from anger to surprise. Her frown softened a bit, and she blinked at him.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" she asked quietly. Trowa allowed his hands to drop back at his sides.

"He asked me not to say anything," Trowa replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. The pressure he felt from her unwavering gaze was causing his resolve to crumble. It was no wonder that she made such a great politician. Relena took a step away from him and began to wring her hands nervously. She was glancing around the tent at the different animals in their cages, but her eyes had a faraway look, the kind of look she always had after Trowa pulled her from a bar.

"For what it's worth, I didn't know he would be gone this long, either," Trowa said to her. "If I had, I would have tried to talk him out of it." Relena flashed him a quick, insincere smile, and he knew she didn't believe him. No one could talk Heero Yuy out of anything.

A cell phone began to ring. The two stared at each other for a moment, then Relena reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone. "It's Duo," she said. She answered the call and held the phone up to her ear.

"Duo?" Relena's face was sad, and Trowa stepped closer. He was curious. In response, Relena switched her phone to speakerphone.

"Hey there princess. Just wanted to give you an update," Duo said on the other line. Trowa and Relena's eyes met over the phone, which she was holding up flat in her hand.

"Yes, please," Relena said.

"Welp, he'll be alright. He is just sleeping now. From what the doctor said, it looks like he, or someone anyway, sliced open the back of his neck." A gasp escaped Relena, one hand flying to her mouth.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, they said when they were about to stitch it closed, they noticed something weird. The doctor said, if he had to guess, that something had been ripped off his spine. The way the muscle tore…" Relena's face paled. "looked like a rip, whereas the cut made was a cut from a knife of some kind."

"I don't understand," Relena said, her voice sounding constricted. Trowa watched as her eyes became glassy with potential tears.

"Yeah. I'm gonna wait around here until he wakes up and try to get some answers from him. Want me to call you when I do?"

"Yes!" Relena said urgently. Her fingers tightened around the phone. "Yes. I don't care what time it is."

"Sure thing, Princess. I'll talk to you soon," Duo said.

"Bye, Duo." Relena said, and she hung up the phone. She quickly pocketed her phone and pressed a hand over her eyes. Trowa could see her begin to tremble.

"Relena?" She turned away from him, the other hand clenched at her side.

"This is insane," she mumbled. Trowa stepped up to her and laid a hand on shoulder. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"It's going to be alright," Trowa said to her. Relena shook her head, droplets of water falling away to the ground.

"It's exactly what I was afraid of! That he'd disappear somewhere and get hurt!" Relena cried, whirling around to face Trowa. Her face was flushed, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Trowa reached to her, and without resistance, she stepped into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder. He held her carefully, though was surprised that her tears did not fall. After a few minutes, Relena lifted her head up, her eyes meeting his, searching for something. Relena reached up and brushed his bangs away from his face, which sent his heart racing.

He looked down at her, her lips turned up towards him. He couldn't help it, with her in his arms… he lowered down and caught her lips in his. Relena's grip tightened on the back of his coat, and almost imperceptibly, pulled him slightly closer. But it only lasted a moment. Relena pulled back abruptly and turned away.

"I should go home," Relena mumbled. She glanced at Trowa over her shoulder. "I'll see you later." And with that, Relena walked out of the tent and back into the pouring rain.

* * *

A/N: Thank you again to all my lovely readers!

-SE


	8. Chapter 7

Deprogramming  
Chapter 7

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 9, A.C. 201  
__Heero_

"Fuck."

Heero opened his eyes slowly, allowing his vision to adjust to the bright lights above him. The back of his neck was pulsing with pain, and he had a horrible headache. He reached up with one hand and pressed it against his temple. He could feel his heartbeat. After a moment, Heero looked around. He was in the hospital. Slowly, the memory of walking himself there with a wadded up, bloody towel came back to him. The strange, terrified looks he'd received on the streets. The screams of the nurses when he walked through the doors and promptly collapsed on the ground.

As he lay there, he realized that more than just his neck hurt. There was a dull ache in his chest, approximately where his heart was located. And the world around him… he didn't know if it was the trauma of what he did to himself, but everything seemed less clear, less sharp. He no longer felt like he could just rip out the tubes and wires from his body and jump out the window of the hospital. Those days seemed so long ago now, though that really wasn't quite true. Heero began to feel nervous. What else was going to change? He wished Dr. J would have figured out what happened after the stupid chip was removed.

Something clicked in Heero's mind. He was nervous. That hardly ever happened before…

A sound, like a snore, caught Heero's attention. He turned in the direction of the sound. There was a chair in the corner, and someone was sitting in it, who appeared to be asleep. The hat the person had was pulled over his face. Heero squinted, and then he saw it. The brown braid dangling down, almost touching the ground. It was Duo. A strangely powerful sensation, like relief, welled inside of him.

"Duo?" Heero called. His throat was scratchy, but it worked. Duo stirred and lifted his hat up off his face.

"Hey there buddy," Duo said, pushing the hat back onto his head. Duo rose and stretched his arms up over his head.

"What are you doing here?" Heero asked.

"Ah well, remember that time I kept bugging you to let me be your emergency contact?" Duo said with a grin.

"No."

"Well, you let me, so when you stumbled in here covered with blood, I got the call. You are really puttin' me out here, buddy. I just had to pay for a trip to Earth, now I had to hop on over here from L2?"

"You probably stole the shuttle you used to get here," Heero said. Duo shrugged his shoulders.

"Mere technicality. So anyway, what the hell were you doing?" Duo asked, and Heero looked away. "Well, if you don't feel like talking, I'll tell you whatever everyone else has been up to. Let's see," Duo stuck up one finger. "Quatre is still insanely rich, Wufei is still insanely cranky, I'm still insanely awesome, Trowa is still insanely quiet, and you are still insane." Duo began to laugh at his own dumb joke, and Heero glared at him.

Duo laughed. He was actually laughing at him. "I think you lost your touch," Duo said. Heero's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked. Duo pulled the chair up beside the bed, dropped into it and kicked his feet up on the bed.

"Your glare isn't as scary anymore. That's all. You been seein' a therapist or something?" Duo asked, still laughing.

"No."

"Oh… Well, I didn't tell you what Relena has been up to since you disappeared," Duo said. "Apparently she went a little ballistic thinking that you were going to go kill yourself or something. Quatre sent me a copy of your note. You're pretty terrible at writing letters."

"I didn't want her to worry," Heero said, feeling a bit ashamed, which was also new. Heero closed his eyes, allowing the emotion to course through his body. He didn't like it. It felt… sad.

"She worried alright. Though I'm not sure about anymore. Maybe. She seemed pretty upset when I called her earlier," Duo said. "She's been running off from her driver and sneaking to bars to have a drink after work by herself. Trowa's been having to go out and find her. And about Trowa..."

"Why would she do that?" Heero asked. Duo shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms behind his head.

"The general consensus between everyone is that she's rebelling against you even though you weren't even there. She got pretty uh, depressed I guess, when you left. It changed her, too. She hasn't been the happy Relena that she used to be," Duo said. Heero stared at Duo as he spoke, and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"And what about Trowa?" Heero asked, his stomach sinking. Duo made a face, like he didn't really want to finish what he was saying. "Tell me."

"I think he's got feelings for Relena," Duo said at last, not making eye contact with Heero as he spoke. Heero suddenly felt light headed, distraught, and… angry.

"What do I do?" Heero asked. Duo looked at Heero skeptically.

"Hurry up with whatever you're doing up here, and get back to that girl," Duo said. "What the heck have you been doing, anyway?"

Heero glanced around, and tried to ignore the welling feelings in his chest. He almost felt a bit like his old self. "Get me out of here, and I'll show you," he said.

* * *

"I didn't know you had a flair for the dramatic," Duo said, looking around the lab at the mess Heero made. The mirrors were still propped up in a circle, leaning on chairs and consoles. The sheets and towels were bloodied in the middle, but mostly clean on the outer ring, except for the spot where Heero obviously passed out.

"I wasn't being dramatic," Heero said, his eyes lingering on the dried blood. He reached up without thinking about it, and touches the bandage covering the stitches on his neck.

"So where's this chip?" Heero stepped between two mirrors and dug around the towels with his foot, until he spotted the small, silver thing. He picked it up carefully between two fingers, then wiped some of the blood and tissue away with a towel.

"Looks like gundanium," Heero said, and handed the chip over to Duo, who took it and raised it to the light.

"Sure does. In a very refined state, too. I didn't think that stuff could be used to make technology like this," he said, tilting it around, catching the light from the dim fluorescent bulbs. "The first question is: how the hell do we read it?" The two men looked around the lab, but everything was mostly destroyed.

"This'll be a problem," Heero said, frowning. Duo nodded, then pressed his fingers to the back of his own neck.

"You sure you didn't find anything about the rest of us?" he asked, and Heero shook his head, no. "I suppose it makes sense…." he said, dropping into a dusty chair. "The rest of us never had suppressed emotions. None of us are as brilliant as you in the middle of battle. Me, Quatre, Wufei, we all reacted to emotions. Trowa… well he's a different story."

"Tragic past," Heero confirmed.

"But you!" Duo said, pointing to Heero with the chip still between his fingers. "You set your own damn bones!" Heero's lips quirked into a grin. Duo leaned back now, crossing his ankle over his knee, and tapped his chin with one finger. "How do you feel now?"

"Are you a psychologist now?" Heero asked, annoyed.

"No, but if the chip is gone now, maybe so is your ability to set bones and be a crazy, calculated killer." Heero frowned deeply at his words. Maybe that was just it.

"I'm annoyed at you," Heero said, like a revelation.

"That's nothing new."

"It was because of your mere existence before," Heero replied. "Now, I'm actually annoyed at your _words_."

"You mean you're offended?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like if I called you a total asshole prick?" Heero opened his mouth to retort, but Duo stopped him. "What about Relena?"

The effect was instant. Warmth spread through his chest, and his lips curved into a smile. But it disappeared quickly.

"She's pissed?" Heero asked, and Duo nodded, his fingers steepled in front of his chin.

"She seemed alright at the Fall Ball, at least until Trowa said something to her, and she left," Duo said. "But she's still pretty down. Plus with Pagan dying…"

Heero exhaled sharply. He didn't know Pagan had died. "Shit," he mumbled, running a hand down his face. "What did Trowa say to her?" Duo shrugged.

"She wouldn't tell me. But they were together when I called her the other night, letting her know you were alive." Duo scrunched up his nose. "I wasn't sure about mentioning this, since I don't have proof but…" Heero eyed him intently. "I think Trowa is falling for her. Or has already."

Heero felt like a wave crashed into him, knocking the breath from his chest. Unabated, an image of Relena and Trowa together appeared in his mind, and it made him feel almost sick.

"I can see that makes you upset," Duo said, but without mirth.

Heero didn't respond. He couldn't. The thoughts in his head were whirling, and no matter how hard he tried to make them stop, to think clearly, it seemed near impossible. Heero pressed his hands to the sides of his head, and sank down in the nearest chair. He could feel Duo's gaze on him.

"If this is how people feel all the time, I may just shove that chip back inside me," Heero said, and to his slight surprise, Duo chuckled.

"It's probably a good guess to say it'll take some time getting used to," Duo said. "And anyway, you shouldn't linger here much longer."

"I know."

"Call her."

* * *

_December 10, A.C. 201  
__Afternoon  
Relena_

Relena had slept badly the last few days and woke up feeling groggy and exhausted. She'd spent the nights sleeping with her phone, expecting a call from Duo that never came. As she dragged herself out of bed, she thought about what Trowa had told her, about how Heero was doing things for her from now on. In what way, she wondered, was disappearing for three years supposed to be for her?

She got ready for the day, not feeling at all like going to work, again. The sounds of rain had finally stopped, and when she glanced out the window, she saw a white haze covering everything. The temperature had dropped and had begun to freeze everything. She pushed through, applying a bit of extra make-up under her eyes to conceal her blue rings, and added a touch of eye shadow to make her eyes look less heavy. She dressed in bright colors to add to the effect, and headed out the door to her waiting limo.

During the ride, she clutched her phone in her hand, ready to answer. But she made it all the way to work without a single phone call, text message, or even email. She was beginning to feel uncharacteristically annoyed. She realized though, as she stood in the elevator on the way up to the eleventh floor, that she had just begun to try and move on, and then out of the blue, Duo calls telling her about Heero. And she couldn't decide which she would have rather had not happen: the choice to move on or hearing the Heero was alive.

Relena sat down in her chair and stared at her desk. It was just as she left it the previous day, with work sitting out and things half finished. It left a bad taste in her mouth to leave things unfinished, but her while mind felt like it was full of frozen fog, and getting those projects finished was becoming more of a struggle.

"This is ridiculous," she said to herself. She got settled in and pulled a paper towards her. She stared at it, trying to concentrate, but all she could think about was her phone and how unobtrusively silent it had been. She was just about to give up and take an early, undeserved coffee break when her work vid-phone rang. Relena pressed the button to answer, and the screen took a moment to connect. She knew right away that it was a call from space. Finally, the screen changed and a face stared back at her. But it wasn't Duo, and it wasn't any of her colleagues in space.

It was Heero Yuy.

Relena dropped her pen and her breath caught in her throat. She stared at him. He was a mess. His skin was pale and sallow, his eyes heavy with lack of sleep. And there was a white bandage wrapped around his neck.

"Relena," he said, his voice rolling through the speakers of the vid-phone. Relena opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was gone. "Duo told me he called you, and that he owed you another phone call. I figured I would just talk to you myself."

Outside of the range of the camera, Relena was twisting her hands around, trying to contain her nervousness and anger. Her heart was already pounding heavily in her chest, bringing about shortness of breath and a dizzy feeling in her head. She still could not find her voice or even words to say.

"I wanted to apologize for being gone for so long," he said. "I will explain it all to you when I come back. I just need a few more days."

"I thought you were dead!" Relena blurted out, and her hands flew to her mouth. Heero closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly.

"Duo mentioned that. And I'm sorry," he said. Relena looked back at his face, and even through the cameras and the millions of miles between them, she could see sympathy and guilt in his eyes. It was a strange thing to see. "I just need another week. One more week, and I will return to Earth. And I-" he paused, and looked down at something outside of the camera. Relena frowned, waiting. "I wanted to ask if you would help me."

"Help you? With what?" Relena asked, though it came out sounding much more annoyed than she had intended. Even so, she was surprised he had the gall to ask for help.

"I will explain when I return. It would take too much time now."

Relena sighed, her emotions and thoughts conflicting within her. She didn't know what to think or feel about anything. Her heart felt hollow.

"Well," she said after a moment. "I can't make any promises."

"I understand. Good bye for now, Relena," Heero said, his expression soft. Relena tried to smile, but failed.

"Bye Heero," she said, and the connection cut. Relena sat back in her chair, allowing her multitudes of emotions and thoughts wash over her until she felt like she might drown in them. Relena noticed something else about the call with Heero. There was something off about him, about the way he spoke, and the expressions on his face. And his eyes.

"Heero," she said, staring at the spot on the vid-phone screen where his face had been moments before, "you're going to give me gray hair."

* * *

A/N: Hello friends! Thank you all for reading and commenting!

I need your help. I have a good part of this story written, but I'm at a crossroads. I could either 1) wrap up the story with sappy ending or something, or 2) keep it going by involving a secondary plot line. If you decide to comment, let me know what you'd rather see.

Thank you!

-SE


	9. Chapter 8

Deprogramming

Chapter 8

by Scarlet Eve

**Go big or go home.**

* * *

_December 10, A.C. 201  
__Late Afternoon_

Trowa stood off to the side, holding a cup of hot coffee between his hands. The steam rose up from the liquid, bringing along the rich smell of the coffee beans that Catherine bought special whenever she could. He was watching the packing of the circus. Three days after Relena had shown up at the menagerie completely soaking wet, the rain had finally stopped and the cold air of the coming winter began to settle. The ground had quickly frozen into a hard surface, made mostly of mud. The spring thaw would not be pretty, Trowa knew, looking at the footprints that had been frozen into the mud.

But now, the sun was shining through the cold blue sky, and all around him, preparations for the next jump went on.

His thoughts continually returned to Relena. He knew he'd made a mistake by kissing her and hoped that he hadn't fractured their unstable relationship any further. He was also a bit nervous about leaving her in Brussels for the winter, but Quatre had said he'd keep an eye on her whenever he was in the city. The idea still made him nervous, though.

He planned to see her that evening after work and see if she wanted to get dinner before he left. He wanted a chance to make sure she would be alright, and to say good bye until spring, or at the very least, anytime he might return to Brussels for business.

Trowa wondered if he should admit Relena of his feelings for her. He thought maybe if he came clean about it, he'd feel better. His guilt had increased ten-fold since finding out that Heero was indeed alive and well. Did it mean that he would be coming back to Earth soon? And if he did… would he and Relena resume their relationship? Trowa had tried to avoid thinking about that. Naturally, Heero was first, Relena's first everything, and probably held up higher in her heart than anyone else. Trowa scolded himself for ever letting himself think that she might reciprocate his feelings.

"Hey there, why the sad face?" Catherine asked, appearing beside him holding her own cup of coffee.

"Just thinking," Trowa said. Catherine smiled sadly and nudged him with her arm.

"Smile! The sun is finally out! And soon, we'll be somewhere warm again," she said, her voice cheery, as always. Trowa glanced at her and summoned up a smile. "There you go!"

"When are we leaving?" he asked, looking back out over the progress.

"Tonight. Midnight," Catherine said, then took a long sip of her coffee. A wistful smile came over her face.

"This is so much better than that stuff the managers buys," she said, looking fondly at the black liquid in her cup. Trowa chuckled, and Catherine moved away from him. "Don't stand around and be lazy all day!" she called back. Trowa watched her retreating back for a moment. Though he knew he could be of some help somewhere, he wasn't in the mood. The roustabouts hardly needed his help anyway. Trowa finished his cup of coffee, cleaned it, and replaced it back in his trailer. He didn't want to leave for the winter on a bad note, so he changed and left with his car to see Relena.

* * *

Relena's estate looked deserted. Even the outdoor lights were off. And as the sun set, it threw dusty shadows over the building, making it look like it had been empty for many years. The only thing that told Trowa _someone_ was there was a single window, through which a yellow light blazed. Trowa pulled the car to the front door and shut off the engine, and waited. He was beginning to get cold feet now, as he knew that the inevitable rejection was soon to come. Taking a deep breath, he slipped from the driver's seat and crossed the pavement, his shoes echoing hollowly against the mostly deserted brick estate. Hoping that Relena would hear, he pressed the button for the doorbell.

It was several minutes before he finally heard some noise on the other side of the door. The light in the entrance hall flicked on, and the door was opened by a harassed looking young woman. Trowa quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes?" she asked, staring at him like he was some sort of transient. He didn't recognize her as anyone on her staff.

"I'm here to see Relena. I'm her friend, Trowa Barton," Trowa answered. "I didn't know she'd hired anyone else." The young woman whispered his name, repeating it over, and finally nodded.

"Miss Darlian hired me to be the caretaker when she moves into the city, but she's still here, and she's causing a fuss about everything," the girl said, her voice turning into a whine. Trowa tried to hold back a smile.

"Could I see her? Maybe I can help," Trowa offered. The young woman shrugged her shoulders and stepped back, allowing Trowa into the estate. She quickly took a moment to tie her hair back up into a bun on her head, before waving vaguely in the direction of the stairs.

"She's in her office. I'm sure you know where it is," the young woman said. Trowa nodded, thanked the woman, and headed off towards the steps. The woman disappeared, muttering to herself.

At the door to her office, Trowa knocked and waited. Finally, after a moment, the door opened, revealing Relena, her cheeks in high color, hair pulled back in a long ponytail. It was because of her apparent excitement that Trowa wasn't sure if she was happy to see him.

"Trowa?!" she said. "What are you doing here?" Relena opened the door wider and let him in her office. Trowa blinked once at the chaos. The floor was covered in boxes of papers, and her laptop was sitting in the middle of a ring of folders.

"I uh… I just wanted to see you before leaving," Trowa said, stepping into the room and attempting to avoid all her documents. "What are you doing?"

"Packing," Relena said. "I'm taking Duo's advice and moving into Brussels."

"So soon?"

"It happened quickly," she said, setting a stack of folders down inside a box, standing up tall and tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I called about the townhome, and when I told the landlord my name, he told me I could go look at it right away! I went during lunch, and I just fell in love with it! I signed the lease right then, and I'll be moving much of my stuff this weekend."

Trowa gave her a sad smile. "I'm glad this move is making you happy." Relena stopped moving and stared at him.

"Trowa…"

"Have you heard anymore about Heero?" Her chin dropped.

"He called me," she began. "He's coming back soon, but he didn't tell me anything more about what he's been doing." She was twisting a ring around her finger, some nervous gesture.

"It'll be good to have him around again," Trowa said, though inside, he didn't believe his own words.

"Trowa…" Relena said again. She took a step towards him. "I…" She paused and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I think there are some unsaid words between us." Relena took his hand in her own and led him towards the leather couch. They sat side by side.

"I've become fond of you, Relena," Trowa said. He hated the word 'fond.' What he felt was so much more than that. But he felt he couldn't tell her that he loved her. Not now that Heero was back in the picture.

"You've been a great friend to me these last few years," Relena said. "But I think that… I can't."

"Can't what?"

"I can't return your feelings." A heavy silence fell in the room. Both Trowa and Relena held their hands between their knees.

"Because of Heero?" The question hung in the air.

She didn't respond right away, and Trowa took that to be a bad sign. "Not necessarily." Trowa wanted to scoff at her, but he kept it to himself. He could tell she was struggling with the conversation as well. "You know he hurt me by leaving. I won't know how my feelings for him have changed until he returns."

"What if I had been the one you found washed up on shore?" Trowa asked suddenly, and he saw the immediate hurt in her eyes. She looked away, but not before he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

"We can't play the "what if" game," she said, her voice breaking. "I didn't control my fate, or my destiny, just like the rest of you. Things just happened that way. It's not that I don't care for you, Trowa. I do. You've been the friend and rock that I've needed these last few years. I regret that I have been selfish, using you so much for support. But you must understand that things are very confusing for me right now."

"Yeah," Trowa replied, not feeling quite convinced. There wasn't much more he could do, and he was already walking the fine line between leaving her for the winter as friends, or with her angry with him. He made the better choice this time, and backed down. He rose up from the couch, and Relena followed suit, but not before she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "The troupe probably won't be back in the area until May or June next year," Trowa said. "We stayed here longer than expected because the weather stayed warm." Relena nodded.

"I look forward to your return. Perhaps you can visit for Christmas? Or the new year?" He shrugged. "I'm sorry, Trowa." He shook his head, and gingerly pulled her into a hug, which thankfully she returned.

"I may be able to visit. Keep in touch?"

"Of course." Trowa tightened the hug. When he finally released her, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Without another word, without a formal goodbye, Trowa turned and left the office.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to the reviewers! Gonna just let the story unfold however it wants. Not till later though. I've had these first several chapters written for like, a year. Lol

-SE


	10. Chapter 9

Deprogramming  
Chapter 9

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 11, A.C. 201_

_Heero_

Heero woke up in the comfort of a hotel room. Duo had insisted, nearly to the point where he _almost_ offered to pay, but Heero declined, and promised he'd rest at a hotel for a couple of days. The idea was a good one, as he'd been sleeping on cheap bunks for the last three years, and he hadn't realized the number he'd done on his back.

Duo had left the night before, taking the chip with him. Since there was no way of analysing it at the lab, he said he'd see what he could do at home, and with Hilde's help, they might be able to get something off it. Heero was grateful to have the chip in someone else's hands.

Uncharastically, Heero lingered in bed for a while, watching television, and drifting between wakefulness and sleep. He found his dreams to be much more vivid, much more involved, than before. In fact, Heero could hardly remember dreaming during the last several years. A side effect of the chip, most likely. Relena made several appearances in his dreams, as did others, people he knew, people he didn't know. He found it fascinating.

While he lay there, during one of his waking moments, he started to realize how different he felt. He hadn't noticed before, but there must have been some feeling of weight, of extra density, upon his chest. Without the chip, he felt lighter. As he explored the depths of his own mind, he found that the emotions he'd always struggled with to be much easier to understand. He thought back to seeing Relena for the first time, and the original feeling of panic associated with that memory was gone. In its place was something like curiosity. That grew as he pictured the moments with her after that day, including the day she told him she was his ally. Fear had been replaced by relief. It was a strange, yet interesting feeling.

But when his mind shifted gears, and his conversation with Duo replayed in his mind, he found his chest getting tight with nervousness and worry. The implication that Trowa might have feelings for Relena made him feel a bit angry and jealous. Thankfully, his logical mind, which was probably more natural and only enhanced by the chip, reminded him that _he'd_ left _her_.

_Still though…_ he thought to himself. All he could do was take Duo's advice, something he was usually loath to do, and get back to Earth as soon as possible. But first, he needed more sleep…

* * *

_December 13, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

The day of her move had arrived. With impressive speed and determination, Relena had managed to pack all the things that would be moving with her to the new place. Much of the large furniture, such as beds, couches, etc, would be left behind. She'd gone a little overboard as well, filling her new townhome with a lot of new things. She chose wildly different styles than what filled the estate, choosing to go with more modern items. She figured this would make the estate feel more like a getaway than it did now. And when she tired of the city, which would undoubtedly happen, she could whisk away to the estate for a short stay.

Relena watched the movers bring her items into the townhome, preferring to stay off to the and out of their way. Curious on-lookers were stopping and staring, and she'd already heard her name whispered among the crowd. She ignored it, choosing to deal with the whole "the Foreign Minister is living next door" problem once she was settled. Relena had already had a worried call from Une, expressing concern at her safety, but Relena dismissed the issue. Security at the estate wasn't so bad, but in a smaller home, she didn't want anyone else roaming around. She had, however, agreed to video surveillance on the exterior of the townhome, and a few interior locations, such as doors and windows. Most of that installation would happen during the night, when less people would be out and about to see.

The thrill of the move temporarily banished all the negative thoughts and worries in her mind. At least until her phone buzzed, alerting her to a new personal email. Relena pulled the phone from her coat pocket and checked. It was a forwarded email from an address that was just a sequence of numbers and letters. The subject line read "FWD: Confirmation &amp; Itinerary." Frowning, Relena opened the email and glanced through it. It was certainly an itinerary, and the passenger's name was listed as 'Heero Yuy.' Relena's eyes widened slightly, and checked the dates. He would be arriving the following Tuesday, only three days away. Relena became jittery and nervous, closing the email and stuffing her phone in her coat pocket. Looking up at her new townhome, the windows of the third and fourth floor black, and tried to imagine them being occupied by him.

The thought was too confusing, and she pushed it away. As she always had, she had to let go of trying to pre-plan anything with Heero Yuy. He'd always been so unpredictable, that anytime she tried to plan, he'd go a different way, leaving her with a bad taste in her mouth. She tried to forget the idea, but knew it would sit in the back of her mind until the day of his arrival.

* * *

_December 13, A.C. 201_

_Trowa_

The circus train sped south towards warmer climates. Trowa sat in the dining car, staring out the window, while Catherine sat across from him, her fingers laced together and elbows resting on the table. She was staring him down, waiting for him to keep talking.

"I don't know _when_ it happened," he said, finally making eye contact with her.

"That's normal," Catherine said. "What about her drew you to her? You never had more than a passing respect for her as a politician before."

"I've always respected her," Trowa agreed. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine her, her mannerisms, the way she spoke, and her smiles. "But I never spent much time around her before, other than our random meetings. I've gotten to know her. Outside of her work, she's pensive and quiet, and she reads a lot." Catherine raised an eyebrow.

"She wasn't always that way," Catherine said. "We've seen different things, brother. Before, when she was outside of work, she was happy and smiling, and always generous and accommodating. The light has gone from her eyes since Heero left."

The air in Trowa's lungs wooshed out, his mouth moving to speak but no words would come. He lowered his eyes. "I understand the type of girl that would interest you, and she would be very similar to you. You'd both enjoy long quiet afternoons. Relena's not really that girl. She grew up a politician's daughter, and she's blood royalty. She's constantly on the move, and she's actually quite talkative once you get her going. You had no interest in her before she became withdrawn."

Trowa wanted to yell at Catherine, to tell her she was wrong, even if she wasn't. He'd never felt anything beyond friendship and respect for Relena before. But the last three years showed that she did have those traits that he admired. And maybe if she realized that Heero is wrong for her…

"I can see I haven't changed your mind about the whole thing," Catherine said. She began to rise from the table. "You know I'll always love you, little brother, but I think you're making a mistake." She stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder, then walked away and left the car.

Trowa sighed and glanced down at the paper lying in the middle of the table. His first letter to her. It explained his feelings for her in a more coherent way than he could by speaking. He was going to send it at the next stop. Catherine had tried to change his mind, but he wouldn't be swayed. He didn't want to believe that she would reject his feelings, though she basically did when he went to see her before leaving. Perhaps that really was all she needed: time. Time to decide that Heero was too different, and no longer someone she was in love with. And maybe with time, she'd come to know that Trowa was the one who was there for her the last few years, and not Heero.

* * *

_December 16, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

Relena spent most of her morning at work glancing back and forth between the clock and the itinerary she had on her desk. It wasn't hers for once, it was Heero's. He'd be arriving at the Brussels International Spaceport at three in the afternoon. She was already planning to meet him there, though she'd gone back and forth about that decision many times. Even now, she still didn't know if it was the right decision or not. She hadn't heard any other information from either Duo or Heero, except for the itinerary.

The most nagging thought she had was wondering how she'd feel to seeing him again. After their initial meeting in A.C. 195, they still had not gone longer than a few months without seeing each other, or without him popping in every once in a while to check on her. But this time had been different. He disappeared for three years without a word. She had a right to be angry, didn't she?

Maybe not, another side of her reasoned. They weren't together, at least not in any official capacity. They'd done things, in the heat of the moment things, but never took their relationship out of the shadows. The pilots and the girls were the only ones who knew anything, besides Pagan of course.

Butterflies fluttered around her stomach all morning. She badly wanted to get the whole thing over with.

The time finally came when Relena called her driver, and he drove her to the spaceport. Relena waited at his shuttle's landing spot, keeping her chin tucked into her scarf, and her hands shoved deep in her pockets. It still had not snowed, but there was a bitter chill in the air that seemed to have come so suddenly after the warm, mild fall. The wind was piercing and strong.

Relena risked exposing her wrist to the cold to check her watch. He should be arriving any minute. Sure enough, a shuttle crested a slight hill in the landing area, and taxied to the space where Relena was waiting. Her butterflies surged once more, and she found herself clenching and unclenching her fists in her pockets. The wind picked up again, blowing her hair in all directions. The stairs were pushed up against the shuttle and the door opened while other workers set to unloading the luggage from under the shuttle.

Several passengers exited the plane before Relena saw the familiar face. He ducked slightly to get through the door, then rose up to his full height, which was much taller than he'd been before. Relena stared, her breath catching in her throat. One of her hands clenched and she pressed it to her chest. He descended the steps, wearing a heavy black coat and jeans, and a green scarf tied around his neck. A bag was slung over his shoulder. He hadn't noticed her yet, so she had a quick moment to stare. He'd grown taller, stronger, and more defined in the last three years. There was a bit of trimmed facial hair along his jawline, which Relena couldn't help but find attractive. His face had become more angular, his hair a little longer.

When he stepped onto the pavement, he looked up, and their eyes met. A jolt rippled through Relena's entire being. There was something unmistakably different about him, about his eyes. He was looking much healthier than he had before, last time he'd called her. But his unruly brown hair still fell over his face, blowing in the wind. He'd grown taller since she'd last seen him; she remembered when they were the same height, so many years ago.

"Heero…" she whispered, pressing her fist a little closer to her chest. A slow smile spread across his face, and he made his way to her, dodging other passengers. Finally, he was only a foot away from her, looking down at her from his substantial height.

"Relena."

She melted. She didn't want to, and she told herself not to, but she flung her arms around his neck.

And he winced. Relena pulled back.

"I'm sorry," she said, pressing a hand to her mouth. Heero shook his head, and patted the back of his neck.

"It's okay." He approached her again, and slipped his arms around her shoulders, allowing her to wrap hers around his chest. He pulled her tightly against him, and beneath his layers of clothes, she could hear the rapid beating of his heart. He was just as nervous as she. Or excited.

Relena remained pressed against his chest for a long time, not wanting to break the hug. She was warm against him, as his body shielded a bit of the blowing wind. The time came, however, for Heero to pull away. "Let me grab my suitcase, and we can get out of the cold." Relena released him and nodded, watching as he joined the huddle of people waiting for their bags. He reappeared, carrying a suitcase with him, the other bag still slung over his shoulder. Heero joined her at her side, and together they crossed the tarmac towards the parking lot, where Relena's driver was waiting with the car.

Robert had kept the car running, so the back of the limo was warm as Relena and Heero slipped inside. Robert pulled the car away from the curb. "Where to?" he called back.

"Home."

* * *

-SE


	11. Chapter 10

Deprogramming  
Chapter 10

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 16, A.C. 201_

_Heero_

_Home_. A lump formed in his throat at the word. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he knew he hadn't made housing plans on purpose. He wanted to be available if any suggestions came his way.

Relena was adjusting her coat and removing her gloves. He stared at her profile; her hair was a slight mess from the wind, and her cheeks were reddened from the wind. She certainly looked more womanly, and more beautiful, than when she was eighteen. But something else had changed, too, making Heero think that Duo was right about Relena. She'd changed. There were worry lines around her eyes and mouth, which she was far too young for. A crease between her eyebrows formed when she frowned too deeply. Had he does this to her?

Despite his guilt, a rogue thought passed through his mind, wondering she she looked like beneath her winter clothes. Heero shook his head and pushed it away. He'd found thoughts like that cropping up more often now, ever since the chip came out. It wasn't like they hadn't breached the line of sexual relations before Heero left for space, but they were both lacking in experience, and Heero now knew that he'd made love to her for all the wrong reasons.

Relena turned her face towards him, a smile on her lips. He returned it, and witnessed the slight surprised in her face.

"When are you going to tell me what happened?" Relena asked, jumping in feet first. He expected this.

"I will tell you when we arrive at the estate," Heero said, but Relena shook her head.

"We're not going there," she said. "I live in Brussels now." Responding to his confusion, she continued, "I moved there on the request of my brother, and the others. With Pagan gone…"

"I understand," Heero said, not wanting her to talk herself into a sad state, though surprised that she actually left the estate behind. He knew how much she loved her gardens. Relena turned away from him, a pensive look on her face. Every bit of him wanted to reach out to her, to hold her, and to try to make up for lost time. But something in her demeanor told him to wait, to give her space. Duo had gone into more detail about Relena's state after he left, and he finally understood the implications of his leaving her like that. He hoped after he explained everything to her, that she'd understand, and maybe forgive him.

They rode in silence. Eventually, the driver pulled the car to a stop in front of a line of townhomes, right in the heart of Brussels. Heero smiled out the window, seeing why Relena would have chosen this particular location. She could see the Flower Carpet from her windows. The gardens at the estate were her pride and joy, and the Flower Carpet was a way for her to have a bit of that while living in the city. Relena climbed out of the car, and Heero followed. Robert, the driver, handed over Heero's suitcase, then drove the car away.

The door to Relena's townhome was level with the sidewalk, so she simply walked across the sidewalk, unlocked the door and stepped inside. Heero stepped in as well, and followed suit as Relena kicked off her shoes and removed her winter apparel. As he removed his scarf, he saw her eyes linger on the white bandage still wrapped around his neck, protecting his stitches from the elements and infection. She looked like she might ask, but seemed to think better of it as she pulled off her own coat, turning away in the process. Beneath her long coat, she wore a pair of loose fitting dress pants and a blue blouse, her sleeves rolled to the elbow. There were curves in places where there had been none, or very little. Heero mentally slapped himself again, and waited at the ready for her instructions. After she hung up their coats in the closet, she gestured forward down the hall.

"Just put your bags anywhere," she said. Heero did so, and she led him into a comfortable sitting room. Though the outside structure of the townhome reflected the ancient gothic architecture so prevalent in Brussels, the interior was more modern and updated. An electric fireplace was against one wall, the mantle covered in framed pictures. Several couches and chairs filled the room. Her bookshelves were against one wall, stuffed with books that looked to be about law, politics, proposals, grants, and other such topics Relena would consider "reading for fun."

"Have a seat. I'll get some water for tea," Relena said, and disappeared from the room. Heero wandered towards the mantle to look at her pictures. Many pictures of her with other politicians, several with Dorothy, and a large amount of Relena with the other pilots and her friends. A few with Pagan were lined up at the front. And tucked in the back, behind a picture of Relena accepting her Foreign Minister position, was one that had been taken a few months before he left, of the two of them sitting together on a couch. It had been taken in the parlor of the estate. Relena was sitting sideways, her legs draped over his, and over the arm of the couch. Heero's hands had been resting on her knees, and Relena's head was thrown back in laughter. Heero only sported a grin, his eyes turned towards Relena.

"That feels like ages ago," Relena said from the doorway, carrying a tray with a teapot and cups. Heero nodded and replaced the picture on the mantle. She stepped into the room and placed the tray on the coffee table, and Heero took a seat on the couch. "You you still take it with a little cream?" Relena asked, pouring a cup of tea for him. He nodded, and she handed it over, then took a seat in an armchair, holding her own cup.

"Talk," she commanded.

So he did.

* * *

_December 17, A.C. 201_

_Midnight_

_Relena_

During their talk, Relena had eventually moved from the armchair, onto the couch next to Heero. Outside, sounds and lights dimmed into darkness, until only the occasional sound of a passing car broke through their conversation. At some point, Relena lit the electronic fireplace, which cast a warm glow to the room. While he spoke, Relena's eyes flickered from his eyes, to the bandage on his neck, to his hands, which were, strangely, twisting nervously in his lap. She closed her own hand over his, attempting to lend him some amount of comfort, and to ease his unrest.

She was enraptured by his tale. Relena knew little about Dr. J, save for the time she met him, and what she'd heard from Heero and the other Gundam pilots. But to implant a chip into Heero, to make him a super soldier? That idea struck deep down inside of her, and all she could think of was Heero, looking like a mobile suit, wiping out entire cities on his own. And if there were an army? The politician side of her, which held her beliefs and ideals, cringed at the thought.

"Where is this chip now?" Relena asked, her only question after several hours of listening.

"Duo has it. He's attempting to find a way to read the coding." Relena bit her lip and rose up from the couch. She began to pace in front of the fireplace. "What's wrong, Relena?" Heero asked her.

"Everything related to this chip must be destroyed," she said, meeting his eyes, her hands clasped behind her back, mostly to keep them from shaking. Surges of fear washed over her in waves, making her feel like she might pass out.

"But…"

"No, no buts," Relena interrupted. "This is dangerous." She could see in his face that he didn't realize how dangerous it was. Relena spread her arms out, appealing to him. "If _anyone_ other than you, me, and Duo,"

"And Hilde." Relena sighed.

"And Hilde, learned about this chip, and about Dr. J's files, we could have a horrible uprising against us, which would throw us back into another war."

"By whom?" Heero asked. Relena sighed, one arm dropping to her side, the other to press against her face.

"The Americas are becoming uneasy and rebellious against the ESUN," she said, closing her eyes as she spoke. Heero remained silent. Relena released a heavy sigh. "Like I said, if _anyone_ finds out about this, _no one_ will hesitate to take advantage."

A heavy silence fell between them. Relena slumped down into the armchair. Her hours of meetings, the emails full of encryption, the extra security on her computer from the Preventers - all of it culminated into a fear that the Americas would try to remove themselves from the ESUN. And with human cloning the way it was, what would stop someone from making themselves an army of super humans?

"Relena…"

She looked up from her hand.

"We'll destroy the information. And the chip. I won't let there be another war." Relena felt a small amount of relief, but her stomach was still twisted in knots of unease. Heero leaned back into the couch cushions, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. Relena stood up from the chair and sat back down on the couch beside Heero. He turned his gaze on her.

"You wanted my help with something?" she asked, remembering back to the conversation she'd had with Heero on the phone.

"Seems inappropriate to ask now," he said, a little sarcastically.

"Ask."

"After removing the chip, I began to notice the changes that Dr. J never found out. My emotions are no longer repressed. I no longer feel…"

"Super human?" Relena offered. Heero smiled.

"Something like that. I wanted to ask you… for help to learn and understand these feelings. Half the time, I don't know what to call them, other than annoying," Heero said. Relena stared hard at him, reading the emotions in his eyes that were on display for the first time since she met him. He really was worried.

Her mind went backwards, thinking about her time with him prior to his disappearance. Had his emotions seemed repressed?

_Yes_, she answered to herself. Relena narrowed her gaze.

"You were never completely emotionless," Relena said. "From what you said, you should have been completely devoid of emotions." Heero shrugged his shoulders. "What do you feel now?" Heero, to Relena's surprise, reached over and took her hands in his.

"Like there a jumble of wires in my head that need to be sorted out," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. Relena stared back at him and released some of the tension that had built up inside of her. She felt herself leaning forward before she really knew what she was doing. Heero's hand lifted up to her face, his rough palm pressed against her cheek, and suddenly, their lips were touching. Relena's senses were fill with Heero- the smell of his skin, the taste of his lips, the feel of his hand against her face, the sound of both their hearts racing.

Relena's arms reached up and her hands wrapped themselves into his hair, and she pulled him closer to her. Her rational mind dissolved into a happy cloud, and slowly, the two lowered themselves down onto the couch, with Heero on top of her, one arm holding himself up. His knee parted her legs slightly, and the kiss between them deepened.

Relena lost herself in the kiss. Heero's hand became tangled in her hair. Slowly, their lips parted, each taking a moment to reacquaint themselves with the other. Tingles ran up and down Relena's body, making her back arch, and she allowed soft whispers of pleasure to escape her lips. Heero's hands began to roam, and a small nagging voice in Relena's mind asked if that was the right thing to do. She tried to brush it away, but it kept coming back, like a vibration in her mind.

It was a phone.

Their kiss broke, Relena reluctant to let him go, but Heero pushed himself up, his cheeks flush and his breath slightly heavy. Relena stared up at him as he dug a phone from the pocket of his jeans.

"It's Duo." Relena scowled. Duo would be the one to interrupt them, him or Milliardo. Heero repositioned himself into a sitting position on the couch, and Relena pushed herself up onto her elbows.

"Maxwell," Heero said into the phone. Relena assessed herself while she waited. A certain heat was radiating in her body. Without Heero's lips against her's, she was able to coherently remind herself that she'd spent the last three years being extremely upset with him. Leave it to her to fall into a puddle of mush the moment he comes back. Relena took several deep breaths to attempt to rein in her out of control body.

"Are you sure about that?" Heero asked. Relena stared at him, wondering what Duo was saying on the other side of the phone. There was another long moment during while Heero was listening. "Keep that information protected. Don't even leave it on your computer." Another pause. "I'll explain later. Just do it."

Heero hung up his phone and turned to face Relena. "Seems Maxwell was able to read the chip."

Relena's breath caught. "So soon?"

"This and piloting are two things I have to give Maxwell credit for," Heero said.

"What did he find?"

"I was right about the chip having the same programming as the Zero system," Heero began. "What I didn't anticipate was the code being tampered with." He paused for what seemed like dramatic effect. Relena stared at him, one eyebrow lifted curiously. "The code for the suppression of normal emotions was slightly edited, and Duo found many spots where chunks of code were missing. That's why I didn't become a complete killing machine, in Duo's words."

Relena blinked, then leaned back against the arm of the couch, thinking. She never considered herself an expert on technology, especially the technology her Gundam pilot friends were familiar with. But what Heero said seemed to click, and she could see that he was thinking the same thing.

"Dr. J didn't want you to be a killing machine," Relena whispered, and Heero nodded his head. They sat in silence for a moment, contemplating. The clock on the mantle struck 1 in the morning.

"We should get some sleep," Relena said as she rose up from the couch and extended a hand out to Heero. "We can discuss this more tomorrow." He nodded and took her hand, to be lead up to the second story of the townhome. The furniture and decorations were much the same as the lower lever. Relena stopped in front of her bedroom door, which was ajar. She thought back and forth for a long time, but finally gave into her struggling emotions. "You are sleeping with me tonight. But don't think this lets you off the hook for leaving me."

In the half light of the hallway, she saw him smirk. He put up no resistance as she dragged him into the room and shut the door. Relena had a vague notion to ask Heero to make love to her, but as soon as she threw herself onto her bed, she was asleep.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to my reviewers and readers, and keep letting me know if/how you like the story, in case I need to make it beeettttter.  
-SE


	12. Chapter 11

Deprogramming  
Chapter 11

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 17, A.C. 201_

_Noon_

_Heero_

The snow had finally started to fall. Outside the townhome, Brussels was covered in a thick layer of powdery snow. Cars and people were driving slowly through the mess already on the roads and sidewalks, and from the looks of the slate gray sky, the snow was going to keep on falling.

Heero had woken up alone in Relena's bedroom, at first confused and surprised. He thought her request to sleep beside her that night was a strange one, but she'd fallen asleep so quickly, there was no time to dwell on it. Not to mention that he was also exhausted that night, from travelling and staying up late to tell Relena his story. He hadn't even heard Relena leave for work.

A handwritten note had been left on the nightstand. It had simply stated to make himself at home, and that she'd be home in the evening sometime. Heero felt strange being alone in Relena's home. He was an outsider looking in, and he also had this nagging curiosity about what she'd been doing the last few years, and how she might have changed or grown up.

After dressing, Heero began to wander, inspecting her home. He glanced through her bookshelves, through her kitchen cabinets, her office - but always being careful to leave things as they were. At first, he wasn't quite sure what he was searching for. But as his hands drifted over the items she'd collected since she'd last seen him, he realized he was grasping for clues to her life, to her.

Like the well worn and tea stained cup sitting beside the sink in the kitchen. A pair of slippers at the door, discarded before she stepped into her shoes for the day. A picture of Relena and Pagan together, the frame worn where Relena had run her fingers.

A sharp pang in Heero's chest reminded him he hadn't been there for her when Pagan passed. Heero pressed a hand over his heart, willing the tightening to ease, but it lingered. He replaced the picture on the end table and turned away. A quickening of his breath altered him to a problem, and it began to dawn on him that he could no longer push away the feelings. Heero slumped onto the couch and dropped his head in his hands.

Was this what it felt like to be sad?

In time, the pain in Heero's chest subsided, but it left him rattled and concerned. With his eyes closed and memories marching by one by one, Heero tried to assess his feelings from the past, and tried to determine if any of them hurt this much. But he could only remember acting the part, knowing when he was supposed to be feeling something, but not really feeling anything.

This realization shook him. What sort of monster could he have turned into? And he was beginning to suspect that he had Relena to thank for the small part of humanity that remained in him during the wars. Her concerned, compassionate eyes were the first thing he saw when he woke up on Earth, and they had been burned into his mind, a constant reminder that someone else had cared.

Heero's restlessness, it turned out, wasn't linked to the chip. He rose from the couch and began to space around the townhome. When he made his way down the hallway towards the front door, he saw that a pile of mail was sitting on the floor. Stooping down, he picked up the pile and casually looked through it. Only one stood out to him, and it made his stomach clench.

The envelope was an off white color and was handwritten to Relena. The top corner of the envelope simply said T. Barton. Heero stared at the envelope for a long time, wanting to the know the contents. Duo had mentioned something about Trowa's feelings for Relena, and Heero very much wanted to know the truth.

A small voice in his mind nagged at him, however. How can you be sure she still loves you?

But Trowa had made her angry, according to Duo.

Frustrated, Heero stared down at the envelope a little longer, until he finally tossed the pile onto a small end table. Relena would probably murder him if he betrayed her trust this soon.

* * *

_Mid December, A.C. 201_

_Trowa_

Trowa liked Spain in the winter. As Catherine said, Spain in winter was "sweater weather," and Trowa had to admit that the siblings had a preferences for sweaters. And that's how the weather was on this particular day - sunny with a slight chilly breeze. Trowa was standing in the menagerie, casually observing circus-goers who were watching side performances or eating food from the stands. He and Catherine didn't perform until the evening, so they had most of the day to relax.

Ever since Trowa dropped his letter off at a post office along the route south, he'd developed a nervous twisting in his stomach. His mind went through scenario after scenario of what Relena's reactions would be after reading it. But at this point, Trowa wasn't sure what outcome he expected from the letter. Catherine's words rang in his ears every time he thought about Relena - that his attraction only amplified when she fell into her depressed state after Heero left.

"Can I see the animals?"

Trowa blinked himself out of his thoughts and looked down. A little girl carrying cotton candy on a stick was standing before him, her large eyes expectant. Trowa stepped aside and let her in, giving her a smile as she slipped by.

He watched the little girl, primarily to make sure she didn't try to feed her cotton candy to the tigers. The girl observed the animals without fear, gently smiling at each creature as she passed by. In that moment, Trowa admired the little girl's calm and reminded himself that he valued the calm more than the constant turmoil of feelings that seemed to he clashing inside of him these days. With a heavy sigh and a bit more determination, Trowa resolved to push aside his worry and just focus on the shows.

* * *

_December 17th, A.C. 201_

_Relena_

For once, work felt like a welcome reprieve from the events of the last twenty-four hours. After supplementing her lack of sleep with caffeine, Relena was able to bury herself in work for eight straight hours without coming up for air, and when her assistant demanded that Relena go home at the same time as everyone else, Relena felt sufficiently clear-headed. She refused to wonder if her renewed focus came from Heero's return, or if work was just a much simpler problem than the ones posed by her friend.

Her return home was one of quiet meditation, something she hadn't been able to achieve in a long time.

And when she walked through the door, her nose filled with the smells of hot food, and whatever lingering stress Relena felt melted away while she discarded her coat and boots.

Feeling ready to continue her conversation with Heero, Relena glanced at the mail pile Heero had picked up and left on the table by the door. She shifted through the envelopes, her fingers stopping on an envelope that was more than just the standard smooth white envelope. She lifted the thicker envelope from the pile and looked at it. T. Barton.

A muscle twitched in Relena's shoulder.

Heero's soft step drew her attention as he entered the hallway, and she looked up from the envelope in her hand. Heero's gaze landed on the envelope and his face paled slightly. "Maybe you should eat first," Heero suggested, his voice low. Relena nodded, abandoned the envelope to follow Heero to the dining room, where he'd set up Thai food take out, like they used to before. The smell of the food and Heero's presence brought back happier memories, and she was able to relax.

Once settled, Relena laid out her plans.

"You'll stay here with me, at least for the time being. You can take the guest room. I'll help you with your… transition, as you asked, though I don't think I'm qualified to do that," she said. Heero looked confused. "I'm not a psychologist."

"You know how to be human," Heero retorted. Relena raised an eyebrow, but continued on.

"You'll need some sort of employment as well, but that can wait until after the holidays. I'm sure Colonel Une can find you a place among her staff." Heero shrugged.

"I don't want to do anything that will take me from you," he said, only meeting her eyes for a moment. A smile twitched onto Relena's face.

"You should also know that I don't trust you," she said, feeling like she was being harsh, but Heero bore it well. He nodded solemnly.

"I plan on spending the rest of my life earning your trust back," he said.

They spent the rest of dinner in companionable silence. Relena couldn't keep her mind from the letter that still sat on the table in the front hall. What would Trowa have to say so soon? And with Heero back, all her feelings felt shattered and scattered around the floor. She silently cursed men for their frustrating ways.

Heero offered to clean up, so Relena excused herself and drifted towards the front door. The envelope from Trowa was still lying on top of the pile of mail. Relena picked it up and carefully pulled the flap apart with a fingernail, and removed the folded paper from inside. She thought she caught a whiff of the smell of the animals, but it could have been her imagination. With a heavy heart, Relena unfolded the letter and read.

_Relena-_

_Though I came to you wishing for closure before the circus left for the winter, I felt as if I hadn't said everything I needed to say. You know I'm not always great with words._

_I love you._

_I can't help the way I feel. During these past few years, you have forged a place in my heart, where I'm sure you will always remain. And I know you felt like you couldn't return the feelings because of Heero's return to Earth, but I want you to know that I will always be here for you, no matter what. If Heero cannot be the man you need, please know that I can be that man._

_Catherine and I will be back for New Years. I hope to see you then. Yours, Trowa._

Relena felt a little sick to her stomach. She dropped the letter on the table and turned away, her hand pressed to her stomach. Her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to breathe.

* * *

_Heero_

Heero turned into the hall from the kitchen and spotted Relena nearly doubled over. He rushed to her side, a hand resting lightly on the small of her back. "Relena, what's wrong?" he asked. She shook her head and darted from his grasp. She sped up the steps with a quickness Heero hadn't known she possessed, and slammed her door closed.

The letter was lying on the table. Relena must have read it. Heero picked it up and skimmed it quickly, his heart sinking with every sentence.

_I love you._

Those words burned into his memory, and with a grunt of frustration he thrust down the letter and turned towards the steps. He took the stairs two at a time and stopped outside of Relena's door. He knocked hard, but heard nothing from the other side.

"Relena!" he cried out. With much effort, he resisted the urge to pound on her door, or just break it open.

"Not now, Heero," her voice came from the other side of the door. With a heavy sigh, Heero stepped back from the door and took the few steps down the hall to the guest room, where Relena said he could stay. Heero flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes. He may have unlocked the suppressed emotions, but that didn't mean he'd forgotten how to assess his body and mind.

His heart felt heavy in his chest, and his stomach was clenching so tightly he worried he might vomit his dinner. His skin crawled when the image of Trowa passed through his mind. A fist clenched. The feeling that he could pommel Trowa the next time he saw him took root in the back of Heero's mind, and brought with it darker thoughts, the kind the Zero always felt the need to show him. But this time, they were Heero's own memories and images of potential future events, which were oddly enough, more wild and outrageous than anything Zero ever showed.

And they were far from pleasant. Heero pressed his hands to his forehead, trying to push the thoughts from his mind. But they remained there, taunting him. He growled low and sat up, his head spinning from the sudden movement, and he began to pace. He had to find a way to control himself and these errant emotions. With a quick movement, he reached for the doorknob to leave the room, to ask Relena's help, but he stopped.

She was not in the mood, as she had made clear. Heero sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket. He really didn't want to, but he needed to talk to someone. So he called Duo.

The phone rang several times before Duo finally answered, and based on the sound of his voice, he'd just woken up. "Man, do you know what time it is?" Duo asked.

"No." Duo grumbled something and from his side, Heero could hear Duo rustling around and the sound of a door closing.

"What is it that couldn't wait until daytime on the colonies?" Duo asked through a yawn.

"I need your help, as Relena is indisposed at the moment," Heero said. Duo snorted.

"Indisposed?"

"She received a letter from Trowa," Heero replied.

"Oh…" Duo said. He released a long sigh. "What did it say?" Heero recounted almost word for word the letter that Relena had left on the table. When he finished, Duo let out a low whistle.

"He fell hard, didn't he?" he said. Heero scowled.

"Not the reason for the call."

"Then what's your problem? Trowa's out of the country. You're in her home. I see no problem," Duo said.

"I need to know why I feel beating the life out of Trowa," Heero growled into the phone. Heero swore he could hear Duo rolling his eyes.

"Ah, that is called 'jealousy' my friend," Duo said. "Which you should probably get under control before you see Trowa again." Heero was pacing around his room again.

"But what if-" Heero stopped short. He couldn't bring himself to say the words. Luckily for him, Duo had no problem with finishing Heero's thought.

"What if Trowa is the one she wants? Then you have to accept that. I know you left for your reasons, but you can't just ignore the fact that you left. You could have kept in touch with her. But it's too late for all that now. Just win her back, the old fashioned way," Duo said.

"What is the old fashioned way?" Heero asked, frowning deeply. Duo sighed.

"Man, use the internet. I'm going back to bed," Duo said and disconnected the call. Heero scowled at the phone before tossing it on the desk in the guest room. 'Old fashioned way.' At least the phone call hadn't been completely useless.

* * *

-SE


	13. Chapter 12

Deprogramming  
Chapter 12

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 18th A.C. 201_

_Relena_

For about the millionth time that morning, Relena dragged her hands down her face, trying to wipe away the exhaustion she felt. Between staying up late with Heero and spending the previous night brooding over Trowa, she was rapidly losing sleep and energy. With a groan, she hauled herself up from her desk and wandered to the nearest coffee pot, poured herself another cup, and wandered back to her desk, drinking down the bitterness and caffeine.

She'd left that morning before Heero had awakened. She assumed he'd seen the letter, and she wasn't ready to face him just yet. She needed the day to sort out her thoughts and feelings, so that when the conversation undoubtedly happened, she'd have something coherent to say.

So far, though, she hadn't come up with anything. She'd already told Trowa she couldn't return his feelings. And though she tried to keep herself in check when Heero came back from space, she found herself settling into the comfort of his presence, just like she always had. And they kissed - she'd wanted it badly, too. At that moment, she knew her resolve to make his life miserable for leaving her was crumbling, because she was too happy to have him back. She should have made him beg for her forgiveness. Then again, the story he'd told…

Relena downed the rest of the coffee- it was lukewarm anyway- and pushed her cup away. Trying to bolster her energy level with caffeine wasn't helping.

A soft ping from Relena's computer announced the arrival of an email. She clicked it open to browse. It was a memo from the President of the ESUN, and was stamped and scrawled over with "Internal Use Only," "Confidential," and "Foreign Affairs." Relena skimmed the memo quickly, her stomach sinking with every sentence.

The American territories were starting their own government, which would be seen as an assault against the ESUN and the fledgling constitution. Relena let out a dry sob and lowered her head to the desk.

Could things get any worse?

* * *

_Same Day_

_Heero_

Heero had forgotten to ask Relena for her internet password, but it was a simple task to figure it out. It surprised him, that the password was a complicated string of unrelated letters and numbers, but the fact made him smile at her choice. For a few minutes, Heero browsed the net, trying to research the "old fashioned way" that Duo had mentioned for trying to gain Relena's trust back. Every article seemed tailored towards women, and most of the advice was so outrageous that Heero couldn't believe anyone would actually listen to it. Besides, Relena wasn't a girl who would be won over by some flowers or dinner. He'd really have to dig down into his… soul… and find a way to reconnect with her, the way they had before.

Heero closed the browser and logged onto his email for the first time in a few days. He found several emails from Duo that contained large attachments. Opening one, he found a document with lines of code. The only hint Duo left was "chip" in the subject line. Each document was more and more lines of code that Duo had deciphered from the chip. The most recent email stated: I'm mailing the thing back to you. It creeps me out. -D

Heero frowned. What could possibly creep out the god of death that was made up of coding and metal? Taking his computer to the first floor and making himself some coffee, Heero set about scrolling through the lines of code, starting from the beginning.

Several hours passed, and outside, the sun set, leaving the city in early December darkness. Heero made more coffee and continued to read. He was beginning to understand what creeped out Duo so much.

Not only was the code almost exactly like some parts of the Zero system, but the coding that was written to block and suppress emotions was almost like taking a real person and turning them into a robot, or giving them artificial intelligence. The implications of that kind of technology could be devastating to a world that had pledged to discard all unnecessary military weapons. Who would need Gundams or mobile suits if someone could just turn a bunch of humans into mindless killing machines?

A car door slammed outside of the house, and Heero snapped closed his laptop. He heard Relena unlocking the front door, the slight creak of the hinges, then the door close behind her. Feeling burdened with too much information, Heero rose and left the kitchen to meet her in the hall.

She didn't look good.

Her hair was a mess, her face was pale, eyes tired, the skin underneath sagging with purple and blue smudges. As she struggled out of her coat, he saw that her hands were trembling. An overprotective instinct took over Heero's mind, and he stepped forward to help her out of her coat.

"Thank you," she mumbled. Before she could move away, Heero circled his arms around her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, tilting her chin up so he could see her face. Her cheeks had splashes of color on them, either from the cold or something else. Relena let out a long sigh and tilted her head forward until she was resting against his collarbone.

"Bad day," she answered. Heero tightened his hold on her until her arms circled around his back, clutching onto the fabric of his shirt. An unwelcome image floated into his mind, of Trowa holding Relena like this. With a scowl to himself, he pushed the image away, trying to focus on the girl before him.

"Come on," he said, loosening his hold so they could walk into the living room. He settled her on the couch and sat down beside her. "What happened?"

Relena released a sigh and leaned her head back, pushing away strands of hair that had fallen over her face. Her eyes slid half closed, then all the way. Heero could see she was exhausted, and he knew he'd have to put her to bed soon.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it, but screw it," Relena mumbled. Heero took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "The Americas are going to break away from the ESUN." Heero frowned. Relena's concern had come true.

"Can't the President stop them?" Heero asked gently. Relena shrugged her shoulders and lifted open her eyes.

"He's trying. I'm trying. The American Territory Ambassador is try. We're all trying, but when they get something in their heads, they don't stop until they achieve whatever goal they are after," she said. "The old weapons factories have started up over there, illegally, which means they're going to hold their ground with force."

This news washed over Heero in a very unsettling way. Weapons meant fighting, death, and war. He couldn't do it again… not this time.

Heero reached to Relena and pulled her against his chest, trying to both absorb her strength, and yet return some of his to her. She in turn clung to him. "This is a disaster," she moaned. Heero nodded, his cheek pressed against her head. He closed his eyes, seeing lines and lines of code skimming across his mind's eye. The chip. Keeping the secrets of the chip hidden would be even more important now. A knot of anxiety formed in his stomach - he wouldn't rest well until the chip made it from L2 to his hands without incident.

* * *

A/N: A continued thanks to all those who review my stuffs. Hopefully I've have more time to write since my boyfriend of 4 years decided to remove himself from my life. So if my stuff takes a dark turn, you'll know why! lol

Hearts to you all.

-ST


	14. Chapter 13

Deprogramming  
Chapter 13

by Scarlet Eve 

* * *

_December 19, A.C. 201_

_Early Morning_

_Trowa_

"Oh my god! Trowa!" Catherine shrieked. She was still in her own trailer, and Trowa was outside already, heating water for coffee over an open fire. He abandoned his task and rushed inside Catherine's trailer. She was sitting on the couch, leaning forward over her knees, eyes glued to the television.

"What's wrong?" Trowa asked, seating himself beside her. Catherine pointed to the television, where a man wearing a suit was speaking at a podium. Behind him was a flag, the former flag of the United States of America, before the ESUN. Trowa frowned. It was a bad sign.

"They're breaking away from the ESUN," Catherine said, talking over the man on the screen. "_And_ they're building weapons!" Trowa leaned forward, matching his posture to Catherine's, listening closer to the man speaking. Indeed, that was exactly what it sounded like.

"_We disagree with one person ruling the entire ESUN, and feel that our _country _would be better suited ruled by a president of our own, as we did before…" _

Relena… Trowa closed his eyes and pictured her in his mind. She'd be working nights and weekends now, trying to deal with this mess. He felt bad for her, hoping she'd be alright. Perhaps he should go back…

Catherine was looking at him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, leveling a stare at him.

"Nothing," he answered quickly, but Catherine always knew when he was lying.

"Relena will be fine. This is what she excels at," Catherine said.

"Who will find her if she decides to wander off on her own again?" Trowa asked. Catherine shook her head.

"Heero will," she answered, and turned her attention back to the television. Trowa stared at Catherine's profile for a moment, completely surprised by her adverse reaction to his thoughts. Was she that against him caring for the foreign minister? In his lap, Trowa's fingers twisted together. He was getting too anxious. With a quick 'see ya later,' Trowa escaped from Catherine's trailer to go to the big top, where he could practice and get his mind off certain… things.

* * *

_Same Day_

_Morning_

_Relena_

As it was Saturday, and the regular security team wouldn't be at the ESUN building, Heero had insisted on accompanying Relena. She didn't mind too much; the whole situation had made her jumpy, and having him watching her back while she absorbed herself in work would be a welcome relief. It had been a long time since she'd felt that way.

Upon arriving at the ESUN building, Relena was surprised to see that many other people were working as well. As she walked towards her office, she noticed that the Americas Ambassador's door was propped open. Relena poked her head inside. His dress shirt was rumpled and unbuttoned at the top, and his hair was un-gelled and stood out at odd angles.

"Good morning, Jacob," she called with a wave. He looked up at her and gave her a small, defeated smile.

"Thank goodness you're here," he said. "This is…"

"I know," Relena said. "Call me if you need me." He nodded and ducked his head to resume what he was working on. Relena led the way to her office, a few doors down from the Ambassador's.

"Do you want anything?" she asked. "Coffee, tea?"

"I'll get it," Heero answered, setting down his bag with his laptop inside.

"You don't know where the kitchen is," Relena protested. Heero, however, gave her a look with a sly smile. "You found the blueprints," she added. With a grin, Heero left the room and closed the door behind him. She shook her head, sat down at her desk and waited while her computer started up. Several sealed envelopes were stacked on her mail tray. She picked up the top one and ripped it open, only to thrust it away from herself.

"What in the world?" she cried. The envelope slid across her desk but not far enough to topple over the other side. Sticking half out from the open end was a newspaper clipping with a picture of her, only the face had been blacked out with pen. Her hands began to shake all over again, and she reached towards the envelope. She pulled out the newspaper clipping and stared at it. Not only had the sender blacked out her face, but her name as well. The article looked like someone with missing teeth, as the name "Relena" and "Darlian" has been scratched out, ripping the paper in some places.

"What is that?"

Heero's voice was harsh as he spoke. He crossed the room in a few steps, set down the two mugs and snatched the paper away from her. His eyes widened as he recognized the threat.

"Where did you find this?" he asked slowly. Relena tried to take it back, but he moved the paper out of her reach.

"It was on my desk. There are others," she said, motioning towards the other envelopes. Heero took them and retreated towards the large couch that took up most of one wall in her office. He ripped each one open and took out more news clippings with the same defacement on them. Relena trembled while she watched Heero's face turn a shade darker in anger. Was this a moment, she wondered, when these changes to his emotions would cause problems, or harm?

She rushed to his side and tried to push away the envelopes. "Heero, please, it's not the first time I've received hate mail," she said. Heero grumbled, and in a quick moment, he had his laptop open and was attempting to trace the source of the envelopes. Relena gathered up the items that Heero wasn't looking at and carried them back to her desk. There was one more envelope on the desk that Heero hadn't grabbed. Relena picked it up and slit the flap. Inside was a large clipping, but it wasn't printed on newspaper, but rather plain white paper. She removed it, and a glaring headline crossed the top of the paper.

**Vice Foreign Minister Darlian Assassinated**

The picture below was an old close up of Relena during one of her many speeches, and the date in the corner read - January 1, A.C. 202.

* * *

_Heero_

Heero had the stack of envelopes clutched in his hand. After a less-than-satisfactory search, he couldn't quite determine where they might have come from. When he'd looked up from his laptop, he saw Relena staring at a piece of paper in her hands, her face drawn and pale. What he'd seen on that piece of paper… well, he was determined to find out who would threaten her.

After he saw the fake news article in Relena's hands, he pushed her into her boss's office and left her there, extracting a promise that she would not leave the room until he returned. As for him, he was storming to the office of the one woman he knew could give him the help he would need.

Internally, Heero was feeling dangerous. His anger was bubbling up to a place it has never been, and it was taking every ounce of control Heero had to keep from exploding. The muscles in his arms and back flexed when he thought of the articles, like he could nail someone in the face with his fist without a moment's hesitation.

And that was dangerous. His normally controlled anger and aggression was gone now, replaced with an out of control wildfire.

Commander Une's office door flew open at Heero's touch, and the woman looked up from her desk, startled. Her eyes flickered in recognition, but a glimpse of fear remained on her face. "Heero Yuy?" she asked, rising up from her chair. Heero strode across the room and threw the envelopes down on her desk.

"I need your help," he said, his eyes glaring into Une's. She broke eye contact and looked down at the envelopes.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asked, but Heero shook his head.

"Not right now. There are more important things happening," he said, pushing the envelopes closer to her. Une frowned and picked them up.

"Does this have anything to do with Relena, or the announcement by the Americas?" she asked.

"Possibly. I haven't confirmed it yet," he answered. "That's why I need your help." Une sat back down in her chair and gestured vaguely to the chair on the other side of her desk. She began to pull the contents of the envelopes out and laid them across her desk in a row. With each picture, her breathing got shallower. When she reached the final one, the more serious threat, she paused and once again met Heero's furious blue eyes.

"This is bad," she said.

It was probably the fastest on-boarding process that had ever happened - bringing Heero into the Preventers. No time was wasted, and Une barely held to regulations, ignored background screenings and physical tests, and essentially threw a number at Heero for his salary, which he accepted without hesitation. With him officially part of the Preventers, he had access to whatever resources he needed to eradicate the threat against Relena.

With a Preventer jacket that was slightly too big and his freshly printed ID and access card, Heero walked through the underground tunnels that connected the Preventer building to the ESUN building. Une was busy gathering a team, and Heero had left to pick up Relena from the Ambassador's office. Heero found that with each moment that passed in which he was away from Relena, he would get more anxious to have her back in his sight. He wondered if that feeling was new, because of the chip's removal, or if it was evidence of other feelings that had already existed but were getting stronger.

Once inside the ESUN building, Heero went straight up to Relena's floor and marched down the office where he'd left her. Before he even reached the door, he could hear shouting. He quickened his pace until his stepped through the open door into the office.

Several more ESUN members were inside the office, crowded around a table where a laptop had been set up. Relena was standing off to one side, absently chewing on her thumbnail. Heero frowned. That was unusual behavior for her. Heero moved to her side and wrapped his fingers around her hand, drawing her to his chest. She looked up at him with a worried expression.

"What is it?" he whispered, his arm snaking around her waist in some protective gesture that Heero had never used before.

"The people leading the rebels in the Americas are attacking the ESUN offices in New York," she said, her voice flat. Heero glanced up to peer through the ground of politicians huddled around the laptop. He could see now that video from New York was streaming, showing the destruction of the ESUN office building.

"Is anyone there trying to stop them?" he asked, his voice louder than he'd intended.

"There are Preventers and the police are trying to control the situation but…" she trailed off. Heero continued to watch the screen for a moment. The camera swung around and landed on a group of protesters marching down the street. One of them held up a large picture of Relena with a black X through her face. Heero felt Relena tense up under his grip. The other politicians in the room turned and stared at Relena.

"Come on," Heero said, tugging her gently. "You don't need to watch this." Relena allowed herself to be led away from the room. Heero picked up her coat and bags and carried them for her while they walked towards the exit of the building.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and PMed me. I really appreciate the show of support. HUGZ

-SE


	15. Chapter 14

Deprogramming  
Chapter 14

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 20, A.C. 201  
__Early Hours  
__Relena_

She couldn't sleep. The images from the news in the Americas were burned into her mind, and every time she closed her eyes, the protester's sign with her face on it flashed before her, taunting her. It wasn't confirmed, but Relena felt it was _very_ possible that the rebels in the Americas were the ones behind the threatening newspaper articles. What she couldn't understand was why they hated her so much. She rarely spent time in the Americas, as there were ESUN delegates who were assigned to that territory. What had she ever done to them?

_I dissolved the borders._

The thought whisked through her mind and made her shiver. Of course. She _had_ dissolved the borders seven years ago, during her short stint as queen. She had created the world nation. And they were blaming her.

Relena let out a long sigh and rolled onto her side. Beside her, Heero was sleeping, but she knew that if she whispered his name or touched him lightly, he'd be awake, ready to care for her. Though her instincts told her to leave it alone, the rest of her didn't want to spend the night alone in her room. She felt better having him at her side, rather than down the hall.

The fear Relena felt for the entire situation was becoming too much to bear, but she did not want to show that fear to anyone. She knew that she'd be expected to make a statement about the whole situation soon. Heero had stolen her work phone when they arrived back at her home, turned it off, and hid it. People had been calling her repeatedly to talk to her, presumably after seeing her face on the news. Heero had allowed her to send a message to her friends and to Noin and Milliardo, informing them that she was okay. But nothing else.

Relena lay awake for another hour, allowing her thoughts to swirl the drain of the current situation. Presently, she couldn't see a solution, but perhaps it was because she was exhausted. She rolled back and forth on the bed, trying to find a comfortable spot, but still, sleep eluded her.

The gentle buzz of her personal cell phone caught her attention. Relena rolled back to her other side and grabbed the device from the nightstand. Hilde's name was on the screen. Immediately, Relena's stomach clenched tight in worry.

"Hilde?" Relena asked after she answered the call.

"Relena?" Hilde's voice was tight, and it sounded as if she was speaking through tears.

"What's wrong?" Relena asked urgently, pushing herself into a sitting position on the bed. Beside her, Heero stirred and rolled, his eyes opening slightly to look at her.

"It's Duo… I think he's been kidnapped," Hilde sobbed into the phone. Relena's eyes widened, and she looked back at Heero. Seeing the alarm on her face, Heero pushed himself up into a sitting position as well and moved closer to her side.

"What happened?"

"He was home, and I left to go shopping. When I came back, the door was open, and he was gone. His computer is gone as well," she said. Relena bit her lip.

"How soon can you catch a shuttle to Earth?" Relena asked. She rose up from the bed and pulled a robe on over her pajamas. Leaving Heero in the bed, she walked to her office and turned on her computer to look up tickets to Earth from L2.

"I don't know…" she said quietly.

"I'm buying you a ticket right now. I'll send you the details once I'm done. I think you should be down here, where the Preventers can take care of you, until we find out what happened to Duo," Relena said, her voice slipping easily into her commanding tone. Hilde answered with a mumbled acceptance. "I just sent the itinerary. We'll pick you up." Hilde thanked her and they ended the call. When Relena turned around in her chair, Heero was standing in the doorway.

"What was that about?"

* * *

_December 20, A.C. 201  
__Late Morning  
__Heero_

Heero had asked Relena to write down the entire conversation she'd had with Hilde, then he took that conversation to Commander Une at the Preventer building. He'd left Relena in the care of Sally, who offered to show Relena the new on-site coffee shop. Heero had pulled Wufei from his office and together they went to Une's office.

"Are you sure?" she asked after she read over what Relena had written.

"I don't think Hilde would lie. She's on her way here now, so when she gets here, we can get more details," Heero said.

"Why would anyone kidnap Duo?" Une mused, her eyes still shifting across the paper. Wufei snorted.

"Excellent question." Heero shook his head.

"I have a guess," he said. Both Une and Wufei turned their eyes to him. "It has to do with why I was gone…"

Une looked equal parts irate and sympathetic, giving her an unusual expression. When Heero finished his tale, Une and Wufei were silent for a moment, considering. Une pressed her lips into a thin line and looked up.

"They probably took him for that information," she said. Heero nodded grimly, and Wufei shook his head.

"Maxwell should know better," he mumbled. Une rose from her desk.

"Be that as it may, we'll have to find him and get him back. Since he's a contractor for the Preventers, we'll be able to make this a top priority mission. We're going to need all the available information, and Heero, we need to find that chip Duo mailed to you. If it falls in the wrong hands…"

"Understood." Heero stood up from his chair. "I need to take Relena to the shuttleport to get Hilde. We'll bring her right here," he said. Une nodded, then looked at Wufei.

"Intel on the Americans," she said, pointing to him. Wufei nodded and left the room without another word. Heero released a sigh and turned towards the door.

"Heero…?" Une began, and he turned to look at her. Her mouth was open as if she was about to speak, but she said nothing. "Nevermind." Heero shrugged and left the office.

Heero waited at Relena's side while the shuttle emptied. Finally, Hilde's head bobbed into view and descended the stairs to the tarmac. Relena rushed forward and pulled the young woman into her arms. Heero watched with curiosity. He didn't know when the two had gotten so close. Probably while he was gone…

Relena led Hilde back towards Heero, her arm around the other girl's shoulders. Hilde's eyes were red and swollen, lined underneath by purple smudges, her face pale. She appeared to be leaning into Relena's hold, like she was unable to carry herself. She gave Heero a weak smile.

"Nice to have you back," she murmured. Heero nodded, and without thinking, he reached out and placed a hand on Hilde's shoulder. Her eyes drooped closed, and she sniffed, trying to hold back another outpour of tears. When Heero glanced at Relena, she was smiling at him, with something that looked like pride in her eyes.

"I know that you're exhausted and stressed out," Relena said, leading Hilde towards the baggage claim, "but we're need to take you to the Preventer HQ, so they can interview you about what happened." Hilde seemed to deflate more, but she nodded.

"If you say so," Hilde answered. As she moved to claim her bag, Heero stepped up faster and retrieved it. When he looked at Relena, she nodded. Without speaking, Heero understood that she wanted him to take over. He led the two women back to where they'd parked Relena's car, loaded them in the back seat, and drove back to the Preventer HQ.

* * *

_December 21, A.C. 201  
__Morning  
__Trowa_

The word about Duo traveled quickly through the inner circle of Gundam pilots. Trowa should have anticipated bad news, considering Catherine woke up in a flurry, which usually meant something bad was going to happen. When the call came from a devastated Quatre, Trowa knew that Catherine's premonition had been correct.

Trowa asked the ringmaster for permission to sit out that day's performance. He didn't think he could perform well. The ringmaster had given him grief, but eventually relented, as long as Trowa worked elsewhere during the show. With only a few hours until the afternoon show, Trowa was making a few rounds, looking for someone willing to trade off tasks for the day. His mind ran in circles, trying to determine why Duo had been kidnapped. Quatre hadn't known anything, and he'd mentioned that Wufei, Heero, and Une were keeping a lot of the information under wraps. Trowa couldn't imagine why.

Trowa finally found a young food vendor who was willing to give up his duty for Trowa, in exchange for a pack of cigarettes. Not usually one to condone that sort of thing, Trowa gave the kid a few bills from his wallet and shooed him away.

A few hours later, during a lull in patrons, Trowa saw someone walking through the crowd. The man's uniform was brown, and the Preventer insignia was pinned to his hat and his lapel. Trowa frowned. The man was unfamiliar, but there was no mistake that he'd been sent from Une.

"Trowa Barton?" the man asked, stepping up to the other side of the food cart. Trowa inclined his chin in acknowledgement. "I've been sent by Commander Gold to bring you to Brussels. Your skills are requested in a case of a missing Preventer contractor." The man was so formal, it was almost laughable.

"Why me?" Trowa asked. The man shifted his weight, looking a little annoyed.

"I was not privy to all the details. I was simply sent to retreive you and bring you back to Gold," he answered. Trowa frowned, but he stepped out from the food cart.

"I have to clear it with my boss," Trowa said.

Naturally, the ringmaster was irritated to hear that Trowa needed to leave. Catherine was as well. But Trowa had a little help in the form of the Preventer agent who'd been sent to get him, and finally both Catherine and the ringmaster assented to let him go. Trowa packed a hurried suitcase and followed the agent to a waiting black car, which would take them to the nearest airport for the hop back to Brussels.

Once he was on the airplane, Trowa had time to close his eyes. He was returning to the city where Relena was, but Heero was there as well. A twist in his heart reminded him that the ball was nowhere near his side of the court.

* * *

-SE


	16. Chapter 15

Deprogramming  
Chapter 15

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 21, A.C. 201_

_Afternoon_

_Relena_

As much as she wanted to be with Hilde, Relena couldn't shirk her responsibilities. Sally assured her that the young woman would be safe at the Preventer HQ. Besides, Relena had her own damage control to deal with.

Other territories of the ESUN were either mad as hell at the Americas, or they were curious. It couldn't be helped that as soon as one territory decided to revolt, that others would like the idea and consider using it themselves. Not only that, but the space colonies had heard about the incident as well, and Relena was receiving call after call from Colony delegates, asking her what was happening on Earth, and questioning the President's competency at managing the entire planet. Any bad situation always brought up bad feelings from the past, and Relena was very worried.

_Not to mention_… her face was being defaced by everyone across the Atlantic ocean. It made Relena uncomfortable. She knew that she'd have people that didn't like her, and she didn't really mind, but such active hate? It made her skin crawl.

A soft knock on the door brought Relena's head up from what she was doing and before she could speak, the door opened. Heero stepped inside the room carrying a take-out bag from a nearby Asian food restaurant, and in the other hand, a cardboard cup carrier with two coffees. Relena let a small smile form on her lips. Heero set the items down on her desk.

"You haven't eaten," he said. It was a statement, not a question. She had no idea how he could possibly know what she does and doesn't do throughout the day. Apparently their time apart had not weakened Heero's "Relena Intuition."

"No, I haven't," she confirmed. Heero removed one of the cups and handed it over to her, then unpacked the food. He pushed two little white boxes across the table towards her, then a pair of chopsticks. "How did you even know what I wanted?" Relena asked. Heero just looked at her, eye eyebrow arched. She scrunched her nose at him and opened the boxes. Rice and noodles with veggies and tofu. He slid a few packets of soy sauce across the desk to her.

"Thank you," she said. Heero nodded. He dragged a chair around to the side of her desk so they could eat together. For several moments, they were silent, picking through their food with their chopsticks. The food smelled delicious, but Relena was having trouble mustering up an appetite.

"You have to eat, whether you feel hungry or not," Heero said. "You need to stay strong." Relena shook her head at Heero's mind-reading ability, and tried to eat more. Relena watched Heero silently as she chewed her food. His brow was furrowed, eyes darker than usual. He seemed to be thinking hard about something - surely the same problems that Relena herself was thinking about. Heero looked up at her then, his face smoothing and his eyes returning back to their normal color. His expression was sympathetic, but there was something else in his eyes that Relena couldn't quite understand, but she could feel. As he watched her, Relena's stomach filled with fluttering and a heat spread across her cheeks.

Slowly, it dawned on her that Heero's expression was conveying something like… want or desire. Relena quickly looked down and felt her face get even hotter. She felt slightly uncomfortable, because she wasn't sure how to react. He'd never really looked at her like that before…

"The Preventers are working on putting together security teams for many of the ESUN delegates, and they're pulling together a large group to send to New York, to help the local law enforcement. But this fire won't be put out so easily," Heero said between bites of his food. Relena nodded, lowering her chopsticks to the white container. He'd been part of the Preventers for about twenty-four hours and was already using their jargon. Or perhaps he'd already known it all. "I'll be personally choosing who will be keeping an eye on you and Hilde."

"Of course," Relena said with a small smile. But the smile fell quickly. There wasn't much she could do to feel happy, or pretend to feel happy at the moment. Though she was eating, she was watching the emails appear in her inbox, one after another, each with subject lines in capital letters and cries for help, warnings, another angry territory, etc. By now her stomach felt like it was resting in her feet.

Heero must have noticed her melancholy mood, because he rose up from the chair and circled around to her. He pulled her up and into his arms, and before Relena realized what was happening, she was being held tightly against his chest. Underneath his new Preventer coat, she could hear his heart thumping away inside of his rib cage. Heero's fingers twisted up in her hair and held on. It was more affection, and perhaps more _desire_ than she had ever felt from him before. Sure, he'd given her hugs before, but nothing so _needy_.

"Heero…?" His fingers tightened in her hair for a moment before releasing her.

"What is it?" he asked, apparently unaware of what his body was doing. Relena looked up at him and could see his eyes were that darker blue again, and his pupils were dilated, despite the bright white light of the fluorescents above. Relena felt a twinge in her own body, but she tried to push it away.

"Nothing," she said in a whisper. She needed to put space between Heero and herself before she did something she'd regret. Slowly, she backed away from him and sat down in her chair. "I guess I needed that hug." Heero's lips twitched into a smile, and he gave her a nod. In the pocket of his coat, his phone began to ring. He pulled the device out and glanced at it.

"It's Une. I've got to go," he said. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment, but he didn't advance towards her again. He turned, grabbed his food containers and his chopsticks. "I'll be back later to pick you up." Relena nodded once and watched him leave the room, and only after the door closed did she feel like she could breath again.

* * *

_December 21, A.C. 201_

_Afternoon_

_Heero_

Heero ate the rest of his lunch on his way back to Une's office at the Preventer HQ. It had been difficult, almost a strain, to stay calm while eating with Relena, but he knew she needed someone stable right now, even if he didn't feel stable himself. Inside, he felt like a wild hurricane of thoughts and feelings. He was worried about Duo, he was worried about Relena, and yet, when he saw Relena, he felt like his heart was being pulled out of his chest and towards her, like he needed to keep the physical distance between them to a minimum. It was confusing and strange. Even now, as he entered the Preventer lobby using his access card, he felt the pull in his chest that led back to Relena's office building.

Before entering the elevators, Heero tossed the last of his lunch into the trash can and stepped into the first elevator that opened its doors on the main floor. Up he went, waiting, while he flew up floor after floor, finally coming to a stomach lurching stop on Une's floor. He stepped back out of the elevator and into the hallway. He turned towards Une's office, but stopped.

Across the hall, a pair of green eyes met Heero's own blue, and his stomach dropped.

Trowa Barton.

Heero swallowed hard, trying to reign in his initial reaction to hurl himself at Trowa and to let the better man win. Instead, Heero jammed his hands in his pockets and walked down the hall, trying to keep his shoulders and gait relaxed and unconcerned. Trowa appeared to be doing the same thing, badly.

When he reached the doors to Une's office, he nodded to both Une and Trowa. Trowa attempted a smile for Heero, and nodded to him. "Good to see you again, Heero," he said. Heero gave Trowa a dark look, though he had tried not too. Une didn't seem to notice the exchange. She was busy looking at something on her phone. Finally, she lowered her hand to her side and looked at the two men. "Come on."

They entered her office and took a seat at the conference table in the corner. Trowa slipped off his jacket, clearly having left where ever he was in a hurry. He was still wearing a pair of jeans and a tight sweater. Heero sat down across from him and tried to keep his gaze from the other man, but Heero could feel Trowa's eyes on him. Une sat down at the conference table and dropped several folders down in front of both of them.

"Here's a little required reading for tonight," she said. "This is all the information that's been gathered so far from the New York branch of the Preventers. It should give us a little insight into what they might do next. Yuy," her eyes locked on his. "Have you received the chip yet?" Heero shook his head. Une frowned, but went on. "Keep your eyes open. Trowa, now that you're here, I'll need you both working on finding Duo's computer remotely, so we can try and determine where it is, if in fact whoever stole it has it on and connected to the internet." The two men nodded, still avoiding each other's eyes. "Wufei and Sally are working with other Preventer units in the South American territories, and a few other smaller branches in Europe. We're still trying to amass a force, should it come to that." Une's expression told Heero that she most certainly did _not_ want the situation to come to force. "Luckily," she added. "We're only dealing with the North American territories."

"For now," Trowa said. Heero and Une both looked at him. "I heard people talking in Spain. There seems to be a general sense of approval of what the NA territories are doing." Une sighed.

"Great. Well, Relena and the FM have their work cut out for them," she said. From the stack in front of her, she handed a folder out to both of them. "Here are your offices and other information. Tomorrow, you'll start the search for Duo's computer." With that, Une rose and retreated back to her desk. Heero stared down at the envelope, then flipped open the top. Inside was all his information, such as email address, passwords, where to pick up his laptop, and which office he'd be staying in. He flipped the folder closed and looked up to see Trowa looking back at him. The other man rose up and picked up the folders.

"I think we have some things to talk about," Trowa said in a quiet voice. Heero sighed inwardly and rose to follow Trowa from the room. Once the door to Une's office was shut, the two men turned towards each other. "You read the letter I wrote to Relena," Trowa began. Heero opened his mouth, but he couldn't find any words to say. "I know you did, because otherwise you wouldn't be looking at me like that." Heero felt his face flush with guilt. It was frustrating that Trowa seemed to be hiding his emotions much better than Heero, and he couldn't get a read on Trowa's thoughts. Trowa shifted on his feet, waiting for some response from Heero. Finally, Heero held his hands out to the sides.

"I don't really know what to say," he said. "I was angry… am angry." Trowa nodded, as if he'd been expecting that.

"Have you and Relena reconciled?" Trowa asked. Once again, Heero had no idea what to say. He didn't even really know what Trowa meant by that. Although, if Trowa was in love with Relena, Heero supposed Trowa would want to know if Relena loved Heero. Did she?

"I haven't asked what Relena's feelings are for me," Heero answered. A flicker of a grin flashed across Trowa's face.

"So there's hope, then," he said. Before Heero could speak again, Trowa was gone, walking down the hall as fast as his long legs could take him. Heero exhaled sharply and walked away.

* * *

A/N: So sorry to be MIA for a while. Haven't been feeling inspired or anything, but I'm forcing myself back in. Hearts!

-SE


	17. Chapter 16

Deprogramming

Chapter 16

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 21, A.C. 201_

_Evening_

_Trowa_

The agent quarters located a block from the Preventer HQ were permanent homes for some agents and temporary homes for others. The apartments were small and sparsely furnished. Trowa supposed that people who lived there all the time probably brought in their own furniture, but he wouldn't be around long enough for that.

He sent an email to Catherine, letting her know that he'd arrived in Brussels and was settled in. She'd demanded that he check in with her frequently, so she'd know he was okay. Though they didn't talk about it, both knew that when a Preventer agent shows up at your door, dangerous missions are coming.

At the counter in the kitchen, Trowa drew up a tall bar stool and sat down to read through the folders again. He'd learned more than he'd expected to, such as the reason Heero was gone for several years, and how that whole situation had concluded… with some sort of chip. Details about Duo's research and the effects that the chip had on Heero were there as well, and Trowa read through the information, absorbing everything. As he read, a more complete picture of Heero formed in his mind, and he began to understand how Heero had managed to get through the wars without completely losing his mind, or even getting close to it. Although some might argue that his attempt at self-detonation indicated a loss of sanity, but really, Heero did that to keep the enemy from taking his Gundam. Despite the stupidity of that move, Trowa had still respected him for it.

But everything was different now, and Trowa worried about what their current situation would do to the fragile fabric of friendship between the Gundam pilots. It made Trowa wish that both Quatre and Duo were there as well, to help diffuse the situation between himself and Heero. Not to mention that Relena was also thrown into the mix, and Trowa couldn't even begin to imagine the stress she was under with the Americas' declaration of cessation. Even so, he wanted to see her.

Trowa picked up his phone and pulled up Relena's number. His finger hovered over the "call" button as he considered the idea. Chances were that Heero was with her, and he thought he'd heard something about Hilde staying at Relena's place until Duo could be found. He could go to her office, but he'd have to be careful about Heero being there, too. Their offices were across the hall from each other, so Trowa would be able to keep his eye on him.

With a sigh, Trowa removed her number from the screen, tossed his phone down and went to bed.

* * *

_December 22, A.C. 201_

_Early Afternoon_

_Heero_

Trowa and Heero had spent all morning trying to locate Duo's computer. Occasionally, one of them would catch a glimpse of his computer's unique signature, but then it would disappear, like it was taken off a network or shut down. Heero was beginning to suspect that whoever had it could tell that someone was trying to find it. It was a frustrating process, and every hour that ticked by since Duo's capture just made everything more and more precarious.

Heero glanced up from his computer and looked at Trowa, sitting at his desk in the office across the hall. He hadn't told Relena that Trowa was in town, and so far she hadn't said anything about knowing where he was. Heero knew that she'd find out eventually, since Une would be calling a status update meeting later that afternoon. Relena was to attend, and at that point, she'd see Trowa.

With his stomach rumbling, Heero sent a quick email to Relena, asking about lunch. Her reply came quickly, stating that she was having lunch with some of her colleagues. Heero frowned, but set his phone aside. Trowa glanced up momentarily and met Heero's eyes, before looking back down at the computer in front of him. Heero clenched his fist to control his anger, and went back to work.

* * *

_December 22, A.C. 201_

_Early Afternoon_

_Relena_

The Soldier's Bar was busy at lunch time, many people eating the bar food that was cooked in the rather greasy kitchen behind the bar counter. Relena wasn't hungry, as she hadn't been ever since the situation in New York began. She was, however, thirsty.

Marie, the regular bartender, had smiled at Relena when she entered and sat down by herself at the counter. A dry martini with two olives appeared in front of Relena without a question. Marie leaned forward on the counter.

"I've been watching the news," she said, her voice low. Relena, whose face was mostly hidden by her over-large hat, nodded. "How are you holding up?" Relena grimaced and gestured to the drink.

"Not well," she admitted. "I can't eat." Marie looked at her sympathetically. "Have you seen what those people over there are doing to my face?" Marie nodded.

"It's vile," she said. "But those Americans have always been rebellious." Relena snorted an unladylike laugh. Marie laid a hand over Relena's and pushed her hat up an inch to see more of her face. "You have to be strong, even though you don't want to. I know you can figure this whole thing out, and stop it, or at least come to come kind of conclusion." Relena smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "Sometimes I need a little pep talk."

"Anytime, dear," she said. Beside her glass, Relena's phone buzzed with a new email. It was from Heero, asking her about lunch. She couldn't tell him that she was at the bar, alone. She replied quickly, stating that she was having lunch with people from her office. At least it was slightly more believable. Marie eyed her.

"Who's the guy?" she asked, leaning her chin into her hand. Relena blushed and slipped her phone into her coat pocket.

"Oh, you know… teenage crush," Relena answered, flapping her hand dismissively. Marie smirked and shook her head.

"From the look on your face, it was more than just a _crush_." Relena laughed.

"I suppose. But he disappeared for three years, and just finally came back. He was… looking into his past, up in the colonies. He didn't contact me for _three_ years," Relena explained, deliberately keeping the details vague. "And while he was gone, his friend… well… his friend fell for me." Marie's penciled eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch.

"And, did you fall for him?" she asked. Relena's shoulders lifted up in a shrug.

"I care about him, but Heero… he was my first love," Relena said, trying to keep the wistfulness from her voice.

"Hero?" Marie asked, dropping the particular accent in Heero's name. "Is he your hero?" Relena smiled to herself.

"I suppose he is," she answered. "What would you do?" Marie laughed.

"Change my name and move someplace that's warm all year 'round," she said. The door to the bar opened and another group of patrons entered and sat down at the bar. Marie excused herself, leaving Relena to finish her martini and dwell on her problems.

* * *

_Evening_

It was already past five o'clock, and Relena hadn't yet heard from Heero again. He'd told her that morning that he'd come over and escort her over to the Preventer building for their status meeting, which was only a half hour away. Gathering her things, Relena decided to walk over by herself.

It was a short walk, but even so, people on the streets stared at her. This was normal, but usually the expressions were of wonder or admiration. Now, all she saw was fear. Relena tried to put a smile on her face, but she had a feeling that all these pedestrians would see right through it.

Inside the lobby of the Preventer building, Relena was sent up to the 6th floor, where Heero was working. When she arrived, she walked down the hall until she passed a crowded conference room. Relena stopped and peered inside.

Heero was sitting at the table, his laptop in front of him, typing quickly. Hilde was leaning over his shoulder, occasionally speaking and pointing to something on the screen. A printer had been brought into the room and was rapidly shooting out papers filled with black text. Wufei and Sally were at the other end of the room, a large white board set up, and they were scratching out notes with the foul smelling markers. Une was pacing the room, and she stopped behind someone else, who was taking the papers off the printer and stacking them together.

It was Trowa.

Relena's breath seized, and she took a hesitant step back. But they must have seen her movement, because the room fell silent and all eyes locked onto her.

"Relena."

Her name came from three different voices: Heero, Une, and Trowa.

In an instant, Heero was on his feet, crossing the room with his long legs, until he stood before her. Around his shoulder, Relena saw that Trowa had also risen up from the table where he sat. The rest of the room just looked bewildered.

"What are you doing here?" Heero asked abruptly. Relena frowned.

"I'm supposed to be here. _You_ were supposed to come to my office at five," she said, a hand straying to rest on her hip. Heero lifted his arm and glanced at the watch on his wrist. He shook his head, as if he couldn't believe how much time had passed. He looked at Relena.

"I didn't realize it was so late," he said, his voice low. Relena patted his arm.

"It's alright. I walked over on my own," she said, giving him a half smile. She brushed inside the room and dropped her bags down on a chair at the table and greeted the room with "hellos" and smiles. Wufei and Sally went back to work.

"We must have gotten too caught up," Hilde said as she approached Relena. There was much more hope in Hilde's eyes than there had been before. "We found his computer. Heero hacked his way in and is downloading and printing everything, then he's going to wipe the hard drive." Hilde hugged Relena tightly. "We're a little bit closer."

"That's amazing news," Relena said. Hilde nodded and stepped back. She glanced at Heero, who nodded and hurried back to his chair and sat back down. Hilde returned to his shoulder and they resumed their tag-team cleaning of Duo's hard drive. When Relena glanced around the room again, she saw that Trowa's eyes were still on her. He walked towards her, leaving the paper stacking to Lady Une. Without a word, Trowa took her hand in his and pulled her outside of the conference room and a few feet down the hall.

"Trowa," Relena breathed, trying to keep her rising exasperation hidden. Trowa pulled her into a brief hug.

"It's good to see you again," he said. Relena wasn't sure how to respond, as there were so many conflicting feelings going on in her heart and mind. She smiled, but it was a lame, unsure smile. Trowa's face showed his concern. "Are you alright?" Relena breathed deep and exhaled sharply, then pulled Trowa a few more feet down the hall, away from the conference room. She knew they didn't have long, before Heero would realize that the two of them were gone.

"Trowa… I read your letter, but my feelings remain the same," she began, trying to pull the words from _somewhere _inside her mind. "My priorities aren't about who can care for me, but how I can care for the world. That's my job, and it's all consuming, as you know." Trowa nodded, but his face was falling into a frown. "Heero needs my help right now. After what he went through…"

"Sympathy for someone going through a rough time isn't enough to base a relationship on," Trowa mumbled, making Relena make an irritated noise.

"That's the last thing on my mind," she said, her voice rising. "They're defacing my image in the Americas! They're ripping apart the fledgling ESUN that I've worked so hard for. The added stress of you… and of Heero… it's just not going to happen."

"What's not going to happen?" Relena spun around to see Heero standing in the hall. He closed the distance between them in a few steps, until Relena was stuck between both of them. She turned her head between Trowa and Heero's expectant faces.

"I will not choose," she stated, stepped out of the barrier they'd created, and stormed back into the conference room, grabbed her things, and left.

* * *

_Trowa &amp; Heero_

They stared at each other, stunned. The empty vacuum of space that Relena left behind sucked the air out of both of their lungs, leaving them emotionally floundering. Both opened their mouths to speak at the same time, but neither said anything for a long moment.

Heero's face fell into a glare, and he sighed.

"The computer is offline again - we couldn't wipe the hard drive." Heero paused for a moment. "We have to find Duo," he said. Trowa nodded, and with that silent truce, they returned to the conference room to resume their search for Duo.

* * *

-SE


	18. Chapter 17

Deprogramming  
Chapter 17

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 23, A.C. 201_

_Small hours of the morning_

_Heero_

He stood outside Relena's townhouse, looking at his phone in his hand. He didn't have a key for her place, as every time he'd been there, she'd been with him to open the door. Now though, she and Hilde were both inside, and he assumed they were asleep; the lights were all off. But it was cold outside.

So he called her phone number. He waited while it rang, looking up at her window that looked out over the front of the townhome. After a moment, a soft orange light filled the window, and the ringing stopped. Relena answered in her sleepy voice.

"Heero?" she asked, sounding bewildered.

"Relena… I'm locked out," he said. There was a pause, then a soft swear which made Heero smile. He heard her shifting around in the background.

"I'll be down in a moment," she said. Heero thanked her and hung up the call. He saw the light in the hallway come on, the locks on the door clicked, and Relena pulled open the door. She had thrown a robe on over her pajamas and wore pink slippers on her feet. She moved aside to let Heero into the townhouse, then shut the door. "Sorry about that," she said. "I should give you a key."

Heero said nothing to the irony of that statement. He simply smiled at her and nodded. Maybe she wasn't going to choose, but her actions spoke much louder. As he discarded his coat and boots, he watched as she backed into the hallway, adjusting her robe and waiting. For what, he didn't know. He was still staying in Relena's guest room, while Hilde was put up on the third floor in another guest room. Relena had purchased another bed to put into that room the morning after she bought Hilde's ticket to Earth; it had been empty before.

"Was there any progress?" Relena asked.

"Yeah," Heero answered, feeling the same relief that he saw on Relena's face. "We may have pinpointed a location for his laptop. There's only a slim chance that Duo is at the same place as his laptop, but we're going to check it out anyway…" He saw her face pale. "I'm going with Wufei, Sally, and Trowa," he said, answering the question in her eyes. Relena started to turn away, but Heero didn't want to let this moment slip through his fingers. He stepped forward quickly and wrapped his hand around her wrist. Gently, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She was startled but didn't resist him.

"I'll come back," he said, meeting Relena's eyes. She was gazing up at him with longing and sadness. "And you'll know exactly where I'll be. I'll make sure Une shares all that information with you. It won't be like… like last time." Relena dropped her eyes to his chest.

"I wish I could believe that," she mumbled, her voice sounding like it was another galaxy away. Heero tightened his hold on her with one arm, and lifted her chin to once again meet her eyes.

"This is a special circumstance. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't Duo," he said. Relena nodded in what Heero assumed was understanding. Looking at her, he could feel the irresistible desire to keep her in his arms, and to wipe away the sad expression on her face. He lowered his chin to the top of her head and exhaled. She relaxed a fraction and allowed herself to stay within the confines of his arms.

Heero looked down at her fondly, though he could feel her sadness permeating from her body. But it couldn't be helped. Finding Duo was of the utmost importance. Not only that, but every day up until that night, the chip had failed to turn up in the mail at Relena's place. Heero wondered if Duo had sent it to the wrong address, but of course there was no way to ask him now. It was becoming a more and more real possibility that the chip had been stolen as well. A shiver of worry worked its way up Heero's spine.

* * *

_December 23, A.C. 201_

_Small hours of the morning _

_Relena_

In Heero's arms, Relena was conflicted. She desperately wanted a reason to forget about everything that was happening, but was Heero the distraction she needed? Wanted? He was going to disappear again, off to fight a battle she wasn't sure they'd win. This was the first major conflict that the ESUN had seen since its implementation, but Relena supposed she had to be grateful that it wasn't an all out war. She didn't think she could stand to see a mobile suit again.

Heero shifted, allowing his arms to drop from around her shoulders. She realized she hadn't been returning the embrace. She tilted her head back to look up at him, into his blue eyes that were shining with concern.

"Do you love him?" Heero asked, his voice dropping to a low whisper.

"I can't answer that," Relena replied. Her mind was replaying the moment when she'd stood between the two men, declaring that she would not choose.

But she'd already chosen, hadn't she?

"What about me?" Heero asked. Relena exhaled and took a step backwards, moving further away from him.

"Heero…"

"We have history," Heero said, a drop of desperation in his voice, which was something Relena had never heard from him before. The look in his eyes was distracting Relena from her resolve. The was fear mixed with desperation now, like he was scared to…

"I can't lose you," Heero added. He reached his hands out, palms up, and with only a little reservation left, Relena placed her hands in his. He clasped her hands and pulled her close once more, enveloping her in his arms. She could feel and hear his heart racing underneath his ribs. It pulsed against her temple, matching pace with her own throbbing veins.

When his hands dropped to her lower back and his fingers clawed into her pajama top, her resolve crumbled away completely. She knew it was wrong to feel pity for him; he wouldn't want that, never in a million years. But he needed her. He'd come back to her, asking for help when he was inundated with emotions and feelings that had been for so long repressed.

Without another word, Relena led Heero upstairs to her bedroom.

* * *

_December 24, A.C. 201_

_Midnight_

_Trowa_

It was Christmas Eve, and once again Trowa found himself on the verge of battle. Perhaps the battle wouldn't be as public or large scale as the previous Christmas Eve battles, but Trowa prepared himself the same, nonetheless. He was already in the locker room at the Preventer HQ, pulling on his black Preventer uniform that would allow him easier passage in the dark. A few feet away, Sally and Wufei were dressing as well. No one had seen Heero yet.

In fact, no one had heard from him at all the previous day. Une was not concerned, but wouldn't reveal why. Hilde had come to the Preventer HQ, and Trowa had heard through the grapevine that Relena had not gone to work. The thought made his stomach twist.

Had they spent the whole day together?

Trowa slammed the locker door closed and turned around. Sally was pulling her blonde hair into a ponytail while Wufei laced up his boots. Sally smiled at him.

"Why the long face?" she asked. She didn't know the nature of his feelings, thankfully. _Those_ were only known by a few people. Trowa shook his head.

"Mentally preparing," he lied. She nodded in response. When her ponytail was complete, she dropped down onto a bench and began to rummage through a black bag that stood open. The door to the locker room opened, and Trowa's head snapped up, waiting for Heero's entrance.

But it wasn't him. It was another Preventer carrying a long black bag. Trowa knew what this was. He approached with Sally and Wufei. The Preventer opened the bag and began to hand out the rifles and handguns, an extreme arsenal that was hidden away in the budget to keep the board of executives from getting upset. The agent handed Trowa two .45mm pistols and an M16. Trowa felt the weight of the rifle in his hands, and out of habit, checked the chamber for any ammunition. It was empty.

The agent left and returned with a large metal box full of ammunition. He began to divide it out among Sally, Wufei, Trowa, and a fourth pile for Heero, should he ever show up.

Trowa slumped back down on the bench after he stowed away his ammunition and weapons. He couldn't erase the feeling of dejection that he felt in his chest, and he began to worry that it might be a distraction for him. If only he could have cleared things up with Relena before he left for this mission…

The door to the locker room opened once again, and Heero strode inside, already dressed and ready to go. Without a word, he packed up his pistols, rifle, and ammunition, and stared expectantly at Sally.

"Chopper should be here in about five minutes. We can head up now," she said, looking at each person in the room for a moment. All three nodded and followed her from the locker room towards the elevator. Sally removed a keyring from her pocket and inserted it into a lock next to the word "Roof" on the elevator panel. With a slight jerking motion, the elevator started up and up to the roof of the building, where the helicopter landing pad was located. The elevator remained silent while everyone mused on their own thoughts.

At the top, the elevator doors opened into a small area. A large, metal door stood on the opposite wall. Without hesitation, Sally moved forward and pushed open the door, allowing a strong gust of wind to break into the small room, ruffling clothes and hair. Up over their heads, a black helicopter was descending towards the landing pad. Lady Une was already there, waiting beside a group of agents. When she saw them, she broke away and approached.

"All set?" she asked the four, and they all nodded. "Great." She handed out envelopes to each person. "A little light reading for you on your way to the states. And be _careful_," she added, looking to each person. Trowa nodded to her, and turned back to look at the helicopter. It made a gentle landing on the pad and a door slid open. The pilot waved. Une nodded once more and stepped back.

Heero was the first to walk towards the helicopter, with Wufei and Sally close behind. Trowa hesitated for a moment, looking over the side of the building. Nearby, he could see the ESUN building jutting up through the cityscape, it's gleaming blue windows reflecting the glow of the other buildings around it. He thought of Relena for a moment, until he turned back to the helicopter and saw Heero staring at him. Trowa closed his eyes for a moment, then stepped onto the helicopter.

* * *

_December 24, A.C. 201_

_Morning_

_Relena_

She was still naked in her bed, the sheets and blankets twisted and mussed. She held his pillow to her chest, trying to imprint his smell into her memory before it faded away. They'd crossed a line during the night, and Relena wasn't sure if she approved or not. She felt that she let him off too easily for everything he'd done up until that point, and everything that he would do on this mission. He had said he wouldn't have to kill anyone ever again. But that promise would be broken in their attempt to save Duo.

Upstairs, Relena could hear Hilde moving around. Relena hoped they'd been quiet enough to not wake her, though she'd accidentally found that Hilde was taking sleeping pills. Relena could hardly blame her; she herself had turned to sleeping pills during the months after Heero left.

With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, Relena rose from bed and dragged herself into the shower. The ESUN building was supposed to be closed for the holidays, an email had gone around that special permissions were in place for anyone who needed to continue working.

After showering and dressing, Relena headed down the steps to the first floor. From the kitchen, she could smell breakfast being made, along with coffee. Hilde was standing at the stove frying eggs when Relena walked in.

"You didn't have to do that," Relena commented, taking a seat at the small table. Hilde smiled weakly over her shoulder.

"When I'm nervous, I have to be doing something," she admitted. Relena nodded, understanding the girl's plight. Hilde dumped the eggs onto a plate and brought the food over to the table. Relena poured herself a cup of coffee and the two women sat, staring at the food for a moment before eating. Relena had the distinct feeling that both felt like a major part of them were missing, like their arm or leg.

Or heart.

Hilde sighed over her plate of food, instead taking a deep drink of her coffee. "I should be with them," she said. "I _was _a soldier. I specialized in gathering intel, but I'm here, not being any help to anyone."

"You helped them find his computer," Relena offered. "That was a major part of the operation." Hilde shrugged her shoulders, still hunched over the table with her hands circling her mug.

"I suppose. But now the boys are putting themselves in danger to save Duo. I should have been more careful," Hilde said. Her voice was beginning to break and tears were forming in her eyes. Relena set down her fork and rose, moving around the table to wrap her arms around the other woman. Hilde leaned into her, allowing her tears to flow.

"I'm worried too, Hilde. Not only am I worried about Duo and the others, the but rest of the situation as well. We have to stay strong to fight through this," Relena said. Hilde nodded, trying to reign in her tears. Relena took a step back and gripped Hilde tightly on the shoulders. "Maybe you can help me. Though its against my better judgement, we need to rally those who are still in favor of the ESUN. We have to show the positives of a united world nation." Hilde met Relena's eyes, the start of a fire burning in her eyes. "Because if we don't, we'll once again be at war."

* * *

_December 24, A.C. 201_

_Noon_

_12 hours into flight_

_Heero_

Heero shifted in his seat. His body was getting sore from sitting for so long. The only reprieve they had was to stand up, crouched over, to try and stretch out their legs for a moment before they needed to sit down again. There was nothing to look at over the ocean except for the water.

The anticipation was really getting to him. He could tell it was affecting all four of them. Each member of the team fidgeted in their seats, going over the paperwork in their hands again, memorizing the plans and details that Une had been able to send along with them.

_Sally will work with the American Preventer unit to try and bring some control to the situation. Use force only if necessary. _

_Trowa, Heero, and Wufei will follow up on the leads as to where Duo is being held. Rescue using any and all means necessary. _

_Find and destroy the chip and all related information._

Heero had been a little dismayed by the lack of information. Sally had explained it as Une trusting them to do what needed to be done. Any further details was to be discussed amongst themselves. Which they had already done - eight hours ago.

In his mind, Heero once again cursed Une's choice to use a helicopter instead of a plane. At least the plane would have been more comfortable, but she felt the helicopter was more discrete.

Heero passed the time by thinking about Relena, and the night he spent with her. Though the passion was unmistakable, he still felt her hesitation. But she had willingly allowed him into her bed, and that had to mean _something_, right?

The excessively long helicopter ride gave Heero plenty of time to think. He couldn't help but glance at Trowa, who was leaning against the back of his seat, legs and arms crossed with his eyes closed, and picture what his relationship with Relena must have been like the last few years. Heero _had_ asked Trowa to keep an eye on Relena, not fall for her, though Heero knew as well as anyone that sometimes your feelings didn't always do what you wanted them to do.

A thought wormed its way into his mind - and he began to wonder if they'd ever crossed the line of friendship. Heero's stomach tightened into knots as he continued to think about it. Could that be why Relena was so confused and why Trowa was having a hard time letting her go?

Once again, Heero glanced at Trowa, who hadn't moved in hours. With the chip, Heero had been able to tolerate the longest trips into and through space without noticing the time passing, but without, every minute that passed was agonizing. Every glance at his watch taunted him with the passing of a few minutes, instead of a few hours.

For the first time before a battle or mission, Heero was worried.

* * *

_December 24 A.C. 201_

_Noon-ish_

_Relena_

Relena's entire department at the ESUN was working overtime on Christmas Eve. She'd gotten in around ten in the morning to find that the FM and several other ministers were already working, congregated around a conference table while they talked on phones, sent furious amounts of emails, and watched the news out of one eye. Relena slipped into her office with Hilde in tow.

Together, the women began to reach out to the colonies in space, with Hilde working under the guise as Relena's assistant, so they could get the work done quicker. Their main objective was to start building support, and having the colonies on their side would be a huge bolster.

After several hours of phone calls and schmoozing, Relena and Hilde had confirmed the support of all the colonies, though there was some anger left about the whole situation happening at all. Though Relena hoped that part of it was loyalty to her hard work for the past few years, deep down she knew it was merely a selfish desire to continue the easy contracts for trade and travel between the colonies and Earth, rather than having to negotiate with each individual country.

Hilde set the phone down on the last call and smiled at Relena. "At least we have a little bit of good news," she said, a smile on her face for the first time since she'd arrived on Earth. Relena returned the smile.

"It does make things seem a little brighter," Relena agreed. She shifted around the pages of notes that she and Hilde had taken during their calls and skimmed them over. "Now if the Preventers can calm the situation overseas…" She met Hilde's eyes, who nodded solemnly. The other woman pressed a hand over her heart.

"I have to keep believing that he's okay, or I'll go crazy," Hilde said. Relena nodded to her, covering Hilde's other hand with her own.

"I understand completely."

* * *

_?_

_?_

_Duo_

His entire being hurt. With effort, he forced opened his eyes, a feeling like sand scraping over his eyes making him shudder in pain. Blackness surrounded him, and dampness pressed in on his skin. As his senses woke up, he could smell mold in the air, the musty smell of damp wood. Somewhere nearby, he could hear the dripping of water in a steady cadence. His mouth tasted of cotton.

Duo rolled onto his side and used his arms and legs to push himself onto all fours. His braid, now a tangled mess, tumbled over his shoulder. Beneath his skin, his blood was pumping and flowing through his veins, waking up every inch of his body. Rising to his feet, Duo felt a surge of power that he'd never felt before.

Something pulled at the back of his neck.

Duo reached a hand to his neck and felt with his fingers, until they brushed against a neat row of stitches. Beneath the stitches, he could feel a bulge, square shaped and smooth.

Duo's stomach knotted. _The chip_.

He cried out in anger, twisting around, his fingers clawing at his neck, but he couldn't gain any purchase against the stitches. His nails had been cut past the quick. Duo dropped back to the ground and felt around the floor, looking for anything, but his hands only moved over smooth, damp concrete.

He rose again, arms outstretched in front of him as he searched for the wall. When he finally made contact, his hands felt the rough sides of bricks. He scratched against it with as much of his nail as he could, but the bricks were still solid. Duo moved, his hands running over the brick walls, searching for any changes - a shelf, a piece of furniture, a door…

A door! His hands brushed against the wood frame, and he felt around under his hands closed around a doorknob. It was heavy, probably made from iron, but he twisted and pulled anyway. The door wouldn't budge. Reaching up, he felt along the frame, but his fingers only encountered damp dust that stuck to his skin.

His fingers followed the edge of the door in the frame, searching for the hinges, but he soon realized that the hinges were on the other side of the door where he couldn't reach them. A horrible feeling of claustrophobia began to press in on him, and his heart raced faster.

"Let me out of here!" he cried, banging his fists against the door.

* * *

-SE


	19. Chapter 18

Deprogramming  
Chapter 18

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: I know, I'm terrible for being MIA. But I'm back!

* * *

_Christmas Day, A.C. 201_

_10:00 am, Central European Time_

_Relena_

On the day that should have been a day of reverence and celebration, the mood was solemn. Relena watched the Preventer agents at the command station, imagining that they'd all like to be back home with their families. But once again, the Earth was in turmoil. It was only a few years ago that they were recovering from battle, healing physically and mentally after both the Battle of Libra and the Mariemaia takeover attempt. Both of those years marked the end of battle, but A.C. 201 was proving to just be the start.

Several monitors were turned into news station from the Americas, which were exclusively covering the protests in New York. Since it was still the early hours of the morning in New York City, the news stations were playing repeat footage from the previous days, the talking heads debating what would be done and how the Preventers and the ESUN President would handle the situation.

Beside her, Une looked at her watch.

"They should be about two hours away from landing at the New York office," she said. "Sally should be in contact when they arrive."

The door to the command room _whooshed_ open, and Hilde stepped in, balancing three take out cups of coffee. She handed one to Une and one to Relena, who muttered a thanks. Hilde was looking worn out and stressed as well. Both women had spent the better part of the night awake, worrying about their loved ones.

"What if this doesn't work?" Hilde asked, her eyes watching the screens. Relena and Une glanced at her, and Une released a long breath.

"We can't think that way. The plan is vague because our information is vague. We just have to believe that Sally and the boys have not lost any of their skills can still pull off a mission with very little intel," Une replied.

_Boys,_ Relena thought. _They've always been young, but they've never been boys._

* * *

_Christmas Day, A.C. 201_

_7:00 am, Eastern Time_

_Heero_

Soft, fat snowflakes swirled around between the buildings of New York City. They melted on the wet streets, but collected on the drifts piling up against the sides of buildings and steps. It would have been a peaceful scene, if it weren't for the crowd gathered outside of the New York Preventer building.

It was Christmas, but it didn't stop people from protesting. From the top level of the New York Preventer building, the gathered agents watched swarms of people protesting, vandalizing, and defacing images of Relena, the President, Vice President, and other members of the ESUN government. They were all wearing warm clothes, though still ignoring the low temperatures and the thickly falling snow.

"This is out of control," Sally murmured. She shifted the rifle on her back and turned towards Heero. "We need to get started." He nodded and looked away from the pictures of Relena that were currently on fire. His stomach twisted in disgust and anger.

Waiting patiently at a conference table was Mark Smith, the head of the New York division. Beside him, a few of his closest agents stood with their hands behind their back. Something about their formality made Heero uneasy.

"As we discussed, Agents Yuy, Chang, and Barton will be following our lead to the location of our missing Agent. The potential location is in this city, so we'll need some way to get them there," Sally said. Smith nodded and glanced at the woman standing beside him.

"This is Leigh Watts. She'll take you in one of our decoy vehicles," Smith said. Sally opened her mouth to speak, but Smith smiled. "Don't worry. It's bullet proof. It's just an average _looking_ vehicle that blends in with all the other cars in this city."

"Understood," Sally said. She turned to look over her shoulder at Heero and the others. "Go with Agent Watts, and keep in touch."

Heero nodded solemnly at her, and they stepped forward to follow the Agent to the door. Leigh led the three men to the elevator and punched the "down" button. She glanced over her shoulder at them.

"Sorry to be star struck, but I can't believe I'm working with some of the original Preventer agents," she said, trying to hide the smile on her face. The only response she received from the three agents were blank stares, so she quickly looked away. "I apologize. I know Minister Darlian is important to you all." The elevator arrived with a soft chime and the doors slid open. Leigh stepped inside with the three men following her. She pushed the button for the basement, the doors closed, and they began their long descent down.

Heero shifted uncomfortably. Something about the slight zero gravity of the falling elevator was making his heart race. He closed his eyes for a moment, only to see flashes of memories - falling from the sky inside Zero, flying through the air after a self-destruction attempt…

He shook his head and opened his eyes. Trowa was looking at him.

"You gonna be alright, Yuy?" Trowa asked, his voice hard. Heero narrowed his eyes and broke the eye contact.

"Hn."

The elevator reached the basement and the doors popped open, alleviating the uncomfortable silence that had persisted the rest of the way down. Leigh led them to a black SUV with tinted windows. It had regular license plates on it which looked worn - and no sign that it was a government sanctioned vehicle.

Leigh took the driver's seat while Wufei slipped into the passenger seat. Trowa and Heero were forced to take the back, which to Heero's relief, had individual bucket seats.

"What are the coordinates?" Leigh asked, glancing at Wufei. He nodded and pulled out his small tablet, tapped a few times, then rattled off the coordinates while Leigh punched the numbers into the vehicles GPS console. A moment later, a route appeared, and they were on their way.

* * *

_?_

_?_

_Duo_

The door to his cell opened with a loud screech, and the sound of rusting metal against metal. Duo lifted his head up from his chin, eyes trained on the doorway. He was leaning against the far wall, waiting.

A shadowed figure shifted into the doorway, obscuring the small amount of light that was entering the room. The figure held a pistol in one hand, but it hung at his side. Duo wanted to laugh at how sloppy this person was. A hanging gun at one's side was no way to confront a prisoner.

Especially not a dangerous prisoner.

"You're going to come out quietly," the figure called, the arm holding the gun finally rising up to point into the darkened cell.

"And if I don't?" Duo called back. Silently, he stood and took a few steps away from the wall.

"I'll… I'll shoot," the figure replied, their constitution already breaking down.

Duo took the moment of weakness and rushed forward, moving faster than he'd ever been able to move in his life. His muscles felt like they were charged with electricity. He collided with the figure, one hand wrapped around his throat, the other ripped the gun from his hand. Close up, Duo could see it was just some young kid, probably a few years younger than himself. With his hand gripped around the kid's neck, he lifted him off the ground and aimed the pistol.

The kid's face turned red as he struggled against Duo's hold. "You're going to take me to whoever sent you down here," Duo said. The kid nodded against the stranglehold. Duo dropped him on the ground, then reached and checked to see if the kid had any other weapons.

He didn't.

_Who are these amateurs, _he wondered to himself.

* * *

-SE


	20. Chapter 19

Deprogramming

Chapter 19

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_Christmas Day, A.C. 201_

_8:30 am Eastern Time_

_Trowa_

Agent Leigh Watts parked the car on the side of the road, approximately a half mile from the GPS coordinates. Around them were abandoned buildings covered in snow, with a few stragglers wandering among the snow drifts. Trowa glanced at his fellow agents, wondering what they were thinking. All Trowa could think of was that this whole mission was going to end up as a huge bust.

"If I didn't watch you follow the GPS, I wouldn't believe that this was the right place," Wufei muttered, throwing a glare at the young agent in the driver's seat. She threw a glare right back.

"Agent Po warned me you were grumpy," Leigh said, and Trowa had to cover his mouth to hide a snicker. Wufei opened his mouth to retort, but Heero took command of the situation.

"Let's go check it out," he said, and pushed open the door on his side of the car. Trowa shrugged and followed suit. Soon, the four of them were standing in the snow, holding their weapons against the front of the bodies.

Heero led the way down the sidewalk, making trails in the snow with his boots. What appeared to be a homeless man saw the four of them coming, and scampered quickly to the other side of the road. Trowa walked behind Heero, trying to step in his footprints.

In a line, they made their way down the sidewalk towards a large decaying building. Most of the windows were broken out, and there was a sizeable hole in the roof that could be seen from the street. Snow had drifted in through the open windows, creating piles of snow on the rotting wood floor. Heero climbed the steps up to the door and kicked it open with his foot. The top hinge of the door broke away, leaving the door hanging inside the building at an odd angle. Heero flicked on the flashlight on his rifle and took a tentative step inside.

"Watch the floors, Heero," Trowa whispered. "They might collapse." To that, Heero grunted a response and continued into the building, occasionally flashing his light at the floor. Trowa followed in behind, moving in the opposite direction from Heero. He could hear Leigh and Wufei's footsteps on the floor as they came into the building as well.

Trowa moved down a hallway, checking into rooms and pushing open doors, but there was hardly a trace of any human activity, except for piles of old garbage. Occasionally, the smell of rotting food or some other horrid stench would waft past his nose, and he'd have to hold his breath to keep from retching. He made it all the way to the end of the hall, not finding a single thing.

"Stairs!"

Wufei's voice echoed through the empty building. Trowa turned and walked quickly down the hall, back towards the front door. He found the other three clustered at the top of a stairwell that led into a stinking, damp basement.

"You really think there's anything down there?" Leigh asked.

"The staircase to the upper floors has been destroyed for years," Heero said. "If anyone was hiding, it had to be down there." Leigh nodded.

"Who's going first?" she asked. Wufei scoffed and stepped forward. He hesitated a moment, then shook his head and stepped down onto the first step. It held his weight, so he kept going. Trowa followed behind, leaving Leigh and Heero to bring up the rear.

Trowa tried to keep himself from brushing up against the walls. Even with the cold weather, the basement seemed to be the right temperature to stay moldy and slimy. The smell filled his nose, and he began to wonder if it he'd ever smell anything nice ever again.

Wufei reached the landing and shone his flashlight ahead. There was a metal door between them and whatever was in the basement. Wufei pushed it, but it didn't budge.

"I think it's locked," he said. When Trowa reached the bottom, he tried helping Wufei to open the door, but with no luck.

"Blow it up," Heero called. Trowa nodded and pulled a small explosive from the bag strapped to his back. Wufei, Heero, and Leigh backed up the steps about halfway while Trowa set the explosive up next to the locking mechanism on the door. He tapped in the denotation code, then backed up quickly, climbing several stairs.

The explosive went off with a muted _bang_, and the metal door swung open.

"Good work, Barton," Heero said, brushing past the group to be the first to step into the room. Trowa flinched. He couldn't help but detect some sarcasm in Heero's voice. Trowa suppressed a sigh and stepped down into the basement.

With the combined flashlights, the four were able to get a good idea of the activity that had happened in the room. At some point, there had been computers, or at least some kind of electronic equipment. Power strips and extension cords were left on the floor, some sitting in partially frozen puddles.

"Idiots," Wufei grumbled, kicking aside an extension cord.

"If our targets were here, they're not anymore," Leigh commented, glancing around the basement once more. "I wonder what happened."

"There's a room back here!" Heero called. Trowa, Leigh, and Wufei followed the sound of his voice down a hall. He was standing in the doorway of an empty room. The group filed inside and checked every corner.

"There's nothing here," Wufei said. Trowa used his flashlight and skimmed along the floor.

"Don't be so sure about that," Trowa said. His flashlight had skimmed over a few hairs that were lying on the ground. They'd stood out against the smooth concrete of the basement floor. With two fingers, he picked them up and shone his flashlight on them. "There's not many people with hair this long."

* * *

_Christmas Day, A.C. 201_

_6:30 pm Central European Time_

_Relena_

Relena sat in the Preventer cafe with Une and Hilde. The kitchen staff had come in to cook meals for the Preventers who were still working, tracking the situation in New York, as well as the small pockets of activity cropping up in other locations around the globe. Relena could tell that Une's stress level was getting higher and higher, as she'd been stirring her cup of coffee for about five minutes, and still had not taken a drink.

Hilde, for her part, was trying to keep up a tough demeanor, but Relena could see the tears brimming in the poor girl's eyes. Relena felt for her, knowing how hard it was to be parted from someone one love, but for Relena, she was numb to the feeling now, despite the recent and sudden reappearance of Heero in her life.

What troubled Relena more was the events themselves. She wasn't easily scared off, but it was unsettling to see so many people denouncing her and her work, and those images being broadcast all over the world and in space. Worry gnawed at her almost constantly, wondering if her allies would be affected by these images - and she worried that the things she worked so hard to build up would come crashing down around her.

She had to put some trust in the Preventers, but they couldn't put out all these fires. She'd have to do some work on her own.

Maybe not just on her own.

She needed Dorothy Catalonia.

* * *

_Christmas Day, A.C. 201_

_5:30 pm_

_Heero_

Though it felt like it, their "raid" earlier that day hadn't been a complete bust. They knew that someone had been there, and they had a pretty good idea that Duo had been there as well, but at some point, everyone and everything had been moved. And now they were behind again, not knowing where they would have moved to. Sally and the rest of the team were busy looking for some signs, anything, to point them in the right direction, but Heero had his doubts that they would find anything. The group had managed to hide themselves fairly well before - what would stop them from doing it again, and better this time?

Heero's laptop was sitting open on his lap, but it was off. He'd pulled it from his bag, intent on doing his own investigation, but his mind had wandered off before he made it very far. It was something he'd noticed since the removal of the chip. His mind wandered a lot more, and he no longer had his laser focus on tasks when there were too many other things going on in his mind. He was beginning to see how Duo and the others tended to function, and he didn't like it very much.

His phone beside his leg light up, the icon for a text message appearing on the screen. It was from Relena.

_Since it's almost over here, Merry Christmas, Heero. _

A small smile formed on his lips as he read over the message several times. Counting quickly in his head, he figured it must be almost midnight in Brussels. He was about to text her back, but instead his the green phone button and waited for the call to go through.

It rang several times before he heard her voice on the other end.

"Hello Heero," she said.

"Relena."

"I had hoped I wouldn't disturb you," she said. "I didn't, did I?"

"No," he answered. He opened his mouth to pour out the day's failed events, but he didn't trust the phone lines. "There wasn't much success today. Maybe tomorrow," he said, trying to leave it as vague as possible. She'd understand.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Things aren't great on this side of the ocean, either," she replied. Heero heard the exhaustion in her voice, and wondered idly why she was still awake, though he could guess as the reason. "I've called in my own reinforcements, though. She should be here tomorrow morning."

"Who?" Heero asked.

"Your favorite woman," Relena said, a little humor in her voice.

_Dorothy Catalonia._

"Why?"

"She's better at managing these kinds of situations, and she has many more… resources," Relena replied. "I know you're not her biggest fan, but she's always been loyal to me."

"Mostly loyal," Heero said.

"She's never pointed a gun at me," Relena teased. Heero scowled to himself.

"I was young and stupid," Heero replied after a moment, and he heard Relena chuckle.

"We all were," Relena said. "I should go and try to get some sleep."

"Merry Christmas, Relena," Heero said.

"You too, Heero." They said good night, and Relena hung up her phone. Heero lowered his slowly back to the bed he sat on, still savoring the sound of her voice in his head. He felt renewed after his conversation with her, and with more motivation than before, he turned on his laptop and began his own search.

* * *

-SE


	21. Chapter 20

Deprogramming

Chapter 20

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 26, A.C. 201_

_7:00 am Central European Time_

_Relena_

Relena and Une waited on the roof of the Preventer HQ, watching as the golden helicopter slowly descended down to the landing pad. The weak sunlight still managed to glint off the shiny finish of the helicopter, making Relena shake her head, remembering Dorothy's golden limo from so long ago. Not that she was any better as a teenager - she'd had a pink limo.

The wind from the helicopter blades blew over Relena and Une, forcing their winter coats to flap sharply in the wind. As soon as the helicopter touched down, the door slid open and Dorothy Catalonia appeared. She hopped down gracefully and strode towards them, a smirk already on her face.

"I wondered when you'd call me in, Miss Relena," she said, approaching Relena and pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheeks. Relena smiled.

"I suppose I thought it wouldn't escalate like this," Relena admitted. Dorothy turned to Une and greeted her the same way, though Une was stiff while receiving the kiss to the cheek.

"Don't worry. We'll get it taken care of." Dorothy linked her arm through Relena's, and the three women walked towards the elevator that would take them down to the underground tunnel that linked between the ESUN building and the Preventer HQ. Une left them when they passed by her floor, leaving the two women to catch up quickly in the privacy of the elevator. Relena blushed the entire time she explained about Heero returning to Earth.

"It's about damn time," Dorothy muttered. Relena tilted her head and gave Dorothy a long stare, but the other woman only grinned and shook her head.

The elevator slowed to a halt in the basement of the building, and the doors slid open. They turned down the hallway that would lead them towards the ESUN building.

"So have you done anything yet about this… _situation_?" Dorothy asked.

"Hilde and I called the colony representatives. They're all still on my side, though some are not happy."

"Naturally."

"I haven't done any public statements or anything. I probably should have on that day…" Relena said. They reached the elevator on the other side of the tunnel and rode up to Relena's floor.

"No "should haves," Miss Relena. We'll fix this. Not to mention, we have to be careful about putting you out in the open. I'm surprised you don't have a tail on you of guards right now," Dorothy said.

"Some other issues came up that took priority," Relena said. "I'm fine, anyway." Dorothy gave Relena a look that told her she was not convinced. They arrived at Relena's office, and she unlocked the door to let them inside. "I guess there's more I should show you," Relena added while Dorothy deposited her things on a table in the office. She gestured for Dorothy to join her at her desk. On her computer, she pulled up the scanned images she'd saved that Une had sent over the previous evening - the newspaper articles with Relena's face and name blacked out and the piece of paper with the mock headline stating that Relena had been assassinated.

Dorothy watched her scroll through the pages with widening eyes. "Someone mailed you these?" Dorothy asked, and Relena nodded in answer. "Is anyone trying to figure out where they came from?"

"Heero started to, but he got put on that mission to the Americas to find Duo," Relena said. "Une may have put someone else on it, but I don't know."

"Email those to me. I'll get someone on them," Dorothy said. She marched back around the desk and removed her laptop from her bag. She set up her laptop on Relena's desk, and pulled out a cellphone, gold of course, and popped a small ear bud in her ear.

"What are you going to do?" Relena asked.

"First, we're scheduling a press conference. The president needs to be there, to show he has full support in you and the ESUN," Dorothy said. "We'll also want several other members of the ESUN to be there, to show support and solidarity." Relena nodded. Dorothy began to type quickly on her laptop, then dialed a number on her phone and waited. Relena watched her, mind blank on what she should be doing to help. Knowing Dorothy though, she'd have everything taken care of.

Relena tried to turn her attention back to her computer, half listening to Dorothy's phone conversation. It sounded like she was on the phone with the president's assistant. She was setting a date for the press conference.

Pulling up her calendar, she scanned it. With a sigh, she pressed a hand to her forehead; she'd forgotten about the New Year's Day party that the President always hosted. Increased security would be necessary. Would Une even have enough Preventers, or would she have to hire a contractor to fill in the gaps? That always brought additional dangers with it, as Une tended to distrust other security companies.

Dorothy tapped the screen of her phone and turned back to her laptop.

"Tomorrow it is. Ten in the morning, at the ESUN delegates conference hall. They'll ask the Preventer-Secret Service team to help out with security," Dorothy said, typing quickly, her eyes on the screen. A moment later, an invite popped up in Relena's email.

"Are you going to the New Year's Day party?" Relena asked. Dorothy shrugged her shoulders.

"I figured I'd hang around here until then, anyway. Who knows how long this mess will take to clear up," she replied.

"I'd offer you a place at my townhome, but Hilde is staying with me," Relena said, but Dorothy flapped her hand and smiled.

"I have a permanent reservation of a suite at the Emissary Hotel," Dorothy said. "They should have already received my luggage. I appreciate the offer though, Miss Relena."

* * *

_December 26, A.C. 201_

_8:00 am Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

The cafeteria at the New York Preventer HQ was full, but mostly silent and tense. The night hadn't gone well. Many more protesters showed up outside of the ESUN building, and there were literal fires to put out around the area. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the ESUN employees were advised to stay home. Preventer agents were assigned to watch over the homes of the handful of people that worked out of the New York ESUN building.

The rest of the Preventers were either coming off their shifts overnight or coming in for their shifts to begin - though there was no discernable difference between the two groups of people. Everyone looked equally exhausted, tired, and worn down. Trowa felt bad for them. They'd been dealing with the problems for the last several days, whereas he'd only been brought in recently.

Trowa made shapes in the small amount of oatmeal left in his bowl. Sitting across and beside him at the table were the rest of his team - Wufei and Sally looked tired, but not yet exhausted. Heero looked the worst, and it was a strange sight to see. Back during the wars, Heero never seemed to never sleep, unless he was in a coma. Now though, dark circles lined his eyes after one night of little sleep, and his head drooped over his plate of fruit and toast. Trowa began to wonder just how much that chip powered Heero, and how he was coping with it being gone.

Not well, it seemed.

Commander Smith approached their table, followed closely by Agent Leigh Watts. "Good morning," Smith said, dropping into an empty chair at the table. Agent Watts remained standing behind him.

"Last night, we were able to find a few leads for where this group might have gone. It was good collaboration between our people and Agent Yuy," he said, nodding towards Heero. Trowa glanced at Heero, who didn't move at all, though he was being acknowledged. "What we're going to do is split you up into two teams and send you to do quick sweeps of some of the locations. Obviously we're going to avoid any fighting as much as possible, since we have no idea how many people they'll have." Smith waved to Agent Watts.

"Agents Watts will go with Agent Barton, and Agent Chang and Agent Yuy will pair off. I'm keeping Agent Po here with me again," Smith said. Wufei looked annoyed at this, but Smith smiled. "If she keeps impressing me, I might have to try and convince her to transfer to this division." Sally laughed, shaking her head. Wufei scowled more.

"And if we find something at one of these locations?" Trowa asked, pushing away his bowl.

"You'll return to the HQ immediately. From there, we'll put together a raid team to take care of it. Une warned me some of you might try to take this on by yourselves…" He looked pointedly at Heero and Wufei. "So again, _don't_ try to do anything on your own." He glanced around the table, nodded, then rose and left. Agent Watts sat down in his vacated chair.

"We'll find him," Watts said, reading everyone's minds.

* * *

_Heero_

_9:00 am_

It was a struggle to finish his breakfast, but he managed it, somehow. His eyelids felt so heavy, like weights were attached, pulling them down. His eyes themselves burned with exhaustion. Feelings he'd never experienced before were weighing him down.

All because he didn't sleep much.

It was wrong, he knew, but he missed the chip. Just a little bit.

As he followed the others down to the garage, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw an email from Relena.

_I'm holding a press conference tomorrow at 10:00 am, so about 4 am your time? Dorothy is here, and she's been a big help. _

_-R_

Of course he was going to watch her press conference. Every time she'd been on TV in the last few years, he'd watched her. It was something that was programmed into him more deeply than anything the chip could ever influence.

"Relena is making a statement tomorrow morning in Brussels," Heero said as his teams approached the vehicles they would be taking.

"Who is doing security?" Trowa asked, but Heero shrugged.

"She didn't say. Preventers, probably," he replied. His stomach churned at Trowa's eagerness.

"Come on, Yuy," Wufei barked from the driver's side of the car. Heero glanced at Trowa and Agent Watts, then climbed into the passenger seat. He silenced his phone and stuck into a deep pocket in his jacket.

The two cars pulled from the garage and headed off into the New York streets. They avoided the roads that were clogged with protesters, then off in different directions, to seek out Duo's potential location.

Heero plugged in the coordinates of the first location, then let the little machine guide Wufei. Heero, in the meantime, cleaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep, however. His mind was stuck on Relena, though every once in awhile, Trowa's face would pass before his mind's eye. It frustrated Heero that things were turning out very different than he'd imagined before. He disliked the additional complications that Trowa had caused.

Before long, Wufei stopped the car in front of another abandoned building, which looked similar to the previous location they'd checked out. They climbed out of the car and headed towards the door, which was barely hanging on by one hinge. Brandishing their weapons, they slid silently into the building.

They didn't make it far. The floors of the second and first floor had caved in, leaving a pile of wood, rubble, and old furniture. Wufei and Heero glanced at each other, then backed out of the building. On the way to the car, Heero pulled out his cell phone and called Sally.

"Location 1 is a bust. No one has been here in years. The floors are caved in," Heero told her, and she sighed.

"Trowa and Leigh didn't find anything at their first location either," she said. "Go on to the next one and let us know."

"Sure thing."

Heero and Wufei got in the car and drove away.

* * *

_December 26, A.C. 201_

_10:15 am Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

Trowa and Leigh hadn't found anything at their first set of coordinates. The building was long burned and covered in layers of snow. During the drive to the next set of coordinates, Agent Watts tried to make conversation, but Trowa had never really been one for conversation. Instead, Agent Watts talked about herself while Trowa listened silently.

"My father fought with Colonel Treize Kushrenada during the battle against the White Fang. He survived the battle but he had old wounds that never healed well after that. After he died in 196, I started training to join the Preventers," Leigh was saying.

"I was there, too," Trowa said. Leigh glanced at him, surprised.

"But you would have only been…"

"Fifteen."

Leigh's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Fifteen? But that's only a kid!" Trowa shrugged.

"We were all fifteen. Wufei, Heero, and the others."

"Did you fight for the White Fang or the ESUN?" she asked.

"Neither, really. We were sort of a third party - trying to stop the fighting. Relena Peacecraft was in space with us, and we sort of fought for her," Trowa said. "At least some of us were."

"You know the Queen?" Leigh asked, then her eyes narrowed at him. "Who _are_ you people? I wondered why Commander Smith thought it was necessary to bring a bunch of agents from Brussels to help us with this issue." Trowa smirked.

"Who I am and what I did in the wars has been erased from history," Trowa said. Leigh slowed the car down and stopped outside of a warehouse. She shut off the engine and turned to Trowa.

"What do you mean?"

"I am - was a Gundam pilot," Trowa said, not meeting her eyes. He heard her gasp.

"How's that possible?" she asked, awestruck. Trowa finally met her gaze, a small grin on his face.

"It's a long story," he said, reaching for the door handle. "Maybe I'll tell you sometime."

Trowa led the way up to the warehouse, with Leigh following behind him in the snow. With as much stealth as they were afforded, they crept towards a window. Trowa pressed his back against the wall of the building, then peered inside through the dirty window.

"Shit."

Part of the room beyond was full of computer equipment on makeshift desks. Chairs were scattered around the room. And bodies littered the floor.

"What is it?" Leigh asked. She peered over his shoulder, and when she saw the scene inside, Trowa felt her tense up. She backed away and pulled a cell phone from her pocket. "Major Sally? It's Agent Watts. We've got something here at location two. Lots of computer equipment and… lots of dead bodies." Trowa stepped away from the window and followed Leigh back towards the car. She hung up the phone and looked at him. "They're sending back up," she confirmed to Trowa.

* * *

-SE


	22. Chapter 21

Deprogramming  
Chapter 21

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 26, A.C. 201_

_5:00 PM Central European Time_

_Relena_

"After we feed you, we'll head out on the town to shop for the press conference and the ball. And of course we'll bring Miss Hilde along," Dorothy said, her arm linked through Relena's. They walked along the tunnel to the Preventer HQ to pick up Hilde. With a swipe of Relena's badge, they passed through the doors that lead into the mission command center. Une and Hilde were standing side by side, speaking to Sally, who's face was up on the large screen.

"We're not sure yet if the dead in the warehouse are from the group that kidnapped Duo, but Heero and Wufei are on their way to join Trowa and Agent Watts to find out. We've got additional agents heading out there as well," Sally said. Relena rushed to Une's side.

"They've found something?" she asked. Sally waved to the screen.

"Relena! I was just explaining. We might have found a lead," Sally said. Relena pressed her hands to her chest. Dorothy stood at her side and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"And everyone is okay?" Relena asked.

"So far," Sally said.

"Thank you for the update, Sally. Let us know what happens after they investigate the warehouse," Une said. Sally saluted to Une and signed off. The screen went black. Hilde turned towards Relena and Dorothy, a sad smile on her face.

"We might be close," she said, "to finding Duo." Relena wrapped her in a hug.

"They'll find him," Relena said.

"Come ladies. Let's go," Dorothy said, grasping the arms of the two ladies. "I have a car waiting outside." Relena released Hilde, and they followed the blonde woman to the elevator.

"Where are we going?" Hilde asked. They stepped off the elevator and headed to the lobby doors, where a long, black limo was waiting for them.

"Shopping," Dorothy said. Hilde stopped.

"Shopping? At a time like this?" she asked, looking a bit appalled. Relena smiled.

"Sometimes it's better to get your mind off things, don't you think?" she asked. Hilde still looked skeptical. "Besides, we're going to find Duo before the New Year's party, and I'm inviting you both to attend. So you'll need a dress."

Dorothy slid into the limo. "We don't have all day," she called. Relena took Hilde's hand and led her towards the limo.

Relena sat back in the leather seat between her two friends. Despite the turmoil surrounding her, for the first time in several days, she felt the faint glimmer of happiness. There was still much Relena had to do to fix the problems surrounding her, but she could allow herself a few hours to forget.

* * *

_December 26, A.C. 201_

_11:00 am Eastern Standard Time_

_Heero_

Heero and Wufei pulled up behind an identical car, outside of an abandoned looking warehouse. The doors of the car in front of them opened, and Trowa and Watts stepped out into the snow. Wufei and Heero followed suit.

"You found bodies?" Heero asked, directing his attention at Watts. She nodded and pointed to the footsteps in the snow.

"We only looked through the window. We haven't gone inside yet," she said. Heero glanced at the footprints.

"Trunk, Wufei," Heero said. Wufei nodded and popped the trunk of the car. The two removed their rifles from the padded casings that had been installed in the truck.

"Shouldn't we wait until the others get here?" Watts asked. Heero and Wufei glanced up at her.

"We've never needed to in the past," Wufei said. Watts shook her head, but she didn't argue. Heero slammed the trunk door closed and headed up to the doors of the warehouse. He heard the crunch of snow behind him, and glanced back to see that Watts and Trowa were following as well.

The door to the warehouse was locked, but it didn't hold up against a hard kick from Heero. The lock busted and the door swung open. The four of them stepped inside.

It was nearly as cold inside as it was outside. The four agents fanned out and began to check the bodies. Heero approached the nearest one and prodded it in the side with his boot. He had no experience knowing how long a body had been dead, especially with the addition of the cold. He almost wished that Commander Smith had allowed Sally to come along - she'd be more useful in this. But judging from the blue tinge on the guy's skin, he must have been dead for a while.

All together, there was about ten bodies lying in various positions on the floor, most looking like they'd been gunned down. The blood on the floor was frozen in puddles. Heero did his best to ignore the squirming in his gut.

In addition to the bodies, there was a similar setup to the last place they'd checked out. Many tables and chairs and random pieces of computer equipment had been left standing in the large room. This time, though, the chaos was even more disorganized. Someone must have moved the equipment very quickly.

"There are other rooms. Yuy, you take that side. Barton, that one, and Watts, you take that far room over there. Shout if you find something. I have a feeling that we won't be disturbing anyone," Wufei said. Heero nodded and moved off in the direction of the closed doors, avoiding the bodies and puddles of blood and water.

At the door, he reached out with his hand and tested it. The door was unlocked. He pressed against the door his foot, keeping his hands on his rifle. The door opened with a loud screech, and he stepped inside a dark room, save for a blue glow at the back.

He heard the rapport of the gun before he felt the pain blossom in his abdomen. His eyes widened and his hands lost their grip on his rifle, and it clattered to the floor. The pain rushed to his head, nearly blinding him. It was more intense than any pain he'd ever felt in his life. With his hands pressed to his side, he dropped to his knees, trying to keep his vision clear.

"I think you are feeling the real pain of a gunshot wound for the first time, aren't you," a voice called from the darkness. Heero lifted his head, squinting into the shadows. A body moved forward until it was close enough that he could see.

"Duo?"

The other pilot grinned, his pistol still pointed at Heero's head. "In the flesh," Duo said. He looked up when he heard footsteps running towards the door.

"Why the hell did you shoot me?" Heero asked, grunting through the pain. Duo shrugged.

"I'm sure it was payback for _something_ you did in the past," Duo said. "I don't really know. I just kind of let Zero take the wheel."

"What?!" Heero snapped his head back up. Behind him, the doors burst open; the three other agents barged in, their rifles aimed at Duo.

"Maxwell?" Wufei asked, sounding much calmer than he probably felt.

"They've put the chip in him!" Heero shouted. Duo grinned again, and Wufei took several steps closer, the barrel of the rifle pointed at Duo's face.

"You're working for the rebels?" Wufei asked, but Duo snorted in laughter.

"No way. After I killed those guys out there, I took their equipment, and have just been causing general mayhem," Duo replied. He paused a moment, then added, "I'm not really working for anyone except Zero."

"You've got to take the chip out," Heero said through gritted teeth. The pain was getting worse, and his hands on his side was doing little to keep the blood from pouring out of the wound.

"I'm only just starting to have fun with it," Duo said. "Besides, you guys have bigger problems. Those dead guys out there are only a small portion of the rebels who are firing up these people over here. They've got pilots, too, which is how the chip was intercepted. I admit, not my smartest move," Duo said, tapping his chin with the barrel of his pistol. "I know they wanted to try and brainwash me to work for them, but none of them have any idea how to deal with Zero's program. They just stuck it in there and hoped for the best. But it didn't turn out well for them."

"Enough talk. You're coming with us, and we're removing that damn thing," Wufei said.

"Not today, Wuffey," Duo said. With a quick move, he tossed something into the air, and a bright flash of light erupted into the room, blinding everyone. When the light faded, Duo was gone.

* * *

_Trowa_

He heard the sirens approaching. He glanced around and met Watts' eyes. "I called for backup and an ambulance as soon as I heard the gunshot," she said. Trowa nodded, then glanced back at Heero, who was still doubled over on the ground, clutching his side. It took a moment for him to register the scene, but then Trowa shoved his rifle into Watts' hands, and he dropped to Heero's side.

"Come on, Heero," he said, wrapping an arm around Heero's shoulders and slowly lifting him up from the ground. Heero moaned at the movement, but he kept going. Slowly, Trowa guided Heero out of the room and into the main area of the warehouse, leaving Wufei to mutter angrily to himself while he searched the room for more information. Watts followed behind, carrying her rifle, plus Trowa and Heero's.

Flashing lights from the ambulance shone weakly through the dirty windows. The doors opened, revealing several Preventer paramedics. They rushed to Heero, carrying a stretcher between them. They removed Heero from Trowa's grasp and lowered him gingerly onto the stretcher, talking to him, trying to assess his wound. Trowa took his gun back from Watts, but not before wiping Heero's blood from his hands onto his black pants.

A large armored truck arrived, along with several smaller vehicles, and Preventers began to fill up the warehouse. Among them was Commander Smith and Sally, who rushed to Heero and the paramedics.

"If he going to be alright?" Watts asked, who was now standing at Trowa's side.

"Normally I would say yes, but now I don't know," he answered.

"What do we do about Maxwell?" she asked. "Should we try to go after him? He couldn't have gotten far with the snow." Trowa sighed.

"You're probably right. Come on," he said. Together, they walked out of the warehouse, ignoring the other Preventers who were coming in to check on the dead bodies.

Trowa followed Watts around the building, searching for footprints. Trowa tried to focus on the task at hand, but he couldn't think of anything else but Relena and Heero. She'd want to know what happened, but was it really his business to tell her? And would this injury to him cause her to feel even more attached to him, like it's her job to care for him? Trowa shook his head, trying to clear the images from his mind, but they persisted.

"Trowa!"

Watts was kneeling down in the snow, her rifle across her knee. She was pointing at a set of footsteps leading away from the warehouse.

"Those could be his," Trowa agreed, looking at the size of the footsteps and the stride length. Duo was tall, though not as tall as he. The stride length looked about right.

"Come on," Watts said. She'd already risen and was following the footsteps. Trowa pressed his lips together and followed behind.

* * *

-SE


	23. Chapter 22

Deprogramming  
Chapter 22

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_12:30 AM Central European Time_

_Relena_

Relena was in the midst of a fitful sleep when her cellphone rang. Without looking, she rolled over and answered the phone, pressing it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Relena, honey? It's Sally."

Dread washed over Relena in a matter of seconds, and she sat up in bed, fully awake.

"What is it?"

"There was a confrontation today, between Heero and Duo. The chip has been implanted into Duo, and when Heero found him, Duo shot him."

"What?!"

"Heero's still alive, though he's been having trouble staying conscious. They removed the bullet and stitched him up," Sally explained. "He did lose quite a bit of blood, though."

"I'm coming there," Relena said, pulling herself out of bed.

"No, it's okay. The Preventers here have a great facility, and they're taking good care of him," Sally said.

"But he doesn't have that stupid chip anymore. I can't even imagine that pain he is probably feeling right now, not to mention the mental strain," Relena replied, trying to keep her voice from cracking through the tears welling in her eyes. Sally was silent for a moment.

"I suppose I can't stop you," she said. "I never have been." In spite of herself, Relena smiled, remembering when she first met Sally, and how she'd lied in order to see Heero.

"I'm a very determined woman," Relena replied.

* * *

_5:00 AM Central European Time_

_Relena_

Relena wondered how she could ever repay Dorothy for just being herself. It was five in the morning, and Relena and Dorothy, along with a few Preventer agents for protection, were about to board a small plane that would take them over to New York City. Once there, it would be six hours earlier, which was plenty of time to replan Relena's press conference, which was now going to take place in New York, in front of the ESUN delegates and whoever else they could scrounge up, which Dorothy agreed would help Relena make a stronger point. Of course, the President wouldn't be there, but Dorothy was already working on making sure there was a satellite camera in the President's office, and with his face picture-in-picture on the screen while Relena was speaking.

And all this had been pulled together in the span of about two hours.

A woman in a flight attendant uniform emerged from the tunnel that led to the plane, then bowed to Relena and Dorothy. "We're all ready for you," she said. "Please go ahead and board." Dorothy led the way, with the Preventer agents following behind. Once on the plane and seated, Relena removed her phone and tablet from her bag, checking and rechecking her email, though she knew that Heero wasn't going to contact her. Though she would be seeing him soon, she was desperate for any sort of news from _him_ about his current state, even though she knew he'd lie.

Dorothy hung up her phone and turned to look at Relena from across the aisle.

"We're all set with the President. He'll be PIP during your press conference, which is now going to be at 10:00 AM in New York's local time," Dorothy said.

"You're a miracle worker," Relena said. Dorothy waved off the compliment. "No really. I still have no idea why you help me so much." Dorothy arched one perfect eyebrow.

"I've told you before how much I admire you. That hasn't changed, Miss Relena. Besides, I'm as invested in our unified nation as you are, and will do much in my power to make sure that it succeeds," Dorothy said. Relena gave her a skeptical smile.

"You must have all kinds of secret dealings, don't you," Relena said. Dorothy pressed a finger to her lips.

"A lady shouldn't kiss and tell," she said with a wink. Relena chuckled.

The flight crew prepped the plane for flight, and soon they were off, flying west towards the Atlantic ocean and New York City. Relena settled in to attempt and sleep for as much of the eight hour flight as possible.

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_7:30 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

The previous afternoon, Trowa and Leigh followed the footprints for a few miles until they finally disappeared. With Duo being supercharged with the chip, there was little chance they'd be able to follow him without more help. Frustrated, he and Leigh had returned to the warehouse, and once the bodies had been collected and the computer equipment had been packed up, they returned to the HQ, hoping that they weren't quick back to where they started.

Early in the morning, though, Trowa was awakened by Wufei with a message from Commander Smith, who wanted Trowa, Leigh, and Wufei to pick up Relena and Dorothy and escort them to the Preventer facility. As far as Trowa knew, they had Preventers on the plane, but Commander Smith wanted extra protection while Relena and Dorothy were in the city. Before long, people would know that the Vice Foreign Minister was in the American territories, and he didn't want to find out what they'd do when they found out.

Either way, Trowa was both nervous and excited to see Relena, even though he also felt she should have stayed tucked away in Brussels. Then again, she was never one to shy away from the battlefield. He remembered how she got in the middle of a Gundam battle between Heero and Zechs, and how she risked her life to try and talk Zechs out of leading the White Fang rebellion against the ESUN.

_She's here to see Heero_.

The voice in his head, which sounded an awful lot like Catherine, reminded him of the fact that he pushed away and tried to ignore. She only made the decision to come to New York after she found out that Heero had been shot.

"There they are," Wufei said. Trowa shifted his mind from his thoughts and saw Dorothy and Relena parting the crowd at the airport with a few Preventers in tow. Leigh trotted up to Relena and Dorothy, a smile on her face.

"It's such an honor to finally meet you two," Leigh said, bowing to them. "My name is Agent Leigh Watts. I've been assigned to the rebellion team, and have been working with your men."

Relena and Dorothy shook her hand, introducing themselves.

"I've been a great admirer of you for a long time, Miss Relena," Leigh said. Trowa arched an eyebrow and glanced at Wufei, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Aren't we all," Wufei said, moving to stand at Relena's side. With a hand on her shoulder, he began to guide her to the door. "But we can talk about all that later." Trowa saw Relena roll her eyes at Wufei, but it wasn't malicious. Wufei was far from Relena's biggest fan, but he at least respected her, now anyway.

Wufei led the way to the waiting cars, and while they piled in, Trowa tried to get a seat with Relena. He managed to squeeze into a car with Relena, Dorothy, and another Preventer from Brussels.

"Trowa, it's good to see you," Relena said politely.

"You too. How are things in Brussels?" Trowa asked.

"About the same. Though unfortunately Hilde found out about Duo shooting Heero, and she's very upset. Une volunteered to keep Hilde around and keep her busy," Relena said. "We didn't really want her to find out about it."

"Understandable," Trowa said.

The cars pulled away from the airport and headed off into the city.

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_8:30 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

She was beginning to feel the exhaustion between lack of sleep and travel. But when she arrived at the Preventer facility, some energy returned to her. Waiting for her in the lobby was Sally and the commander of the New York Preventers, Commander Smith.

"Sally!" Relena cried, running to the woman and enveloping her in a hug. Sally patted Relena's back. "How is he?"

"Better than he was yesterday," Sally said with a smile. "Vice Foreign Minsiter Darlian, this is Commander Smith, of the Preventers," she added, gesturing to the man beside her. Relena stepped back and shook his hand.

"Pleasure, Miss Darlian," he said. "If you need anything at all, please let me know."

"Thank you, Commander."

"This way to the medical facility," he said, and led Relena and Sally towards the elevators. Dorothy tagged along, leaving Trowa, Wufei, and Leigh in the lobby to resume their regular tasks.

The elevator descended for several floors until it came to a halt. With a soft _ding_, the doors opened revealing a clean, shining medical facility. Sally and Commander Smith led the two women to the room where Heero was being kept. Relena rushed to the door, and as she did so, she heard Dorothy say, "Sally, Commander, if I could have a word with you about this press conference…"

Relena didn't wait to hear. Her mind was focused on the door that opened automatically for her with the sound of air releasing, then closed behind her with a click.

Lying in the bed was Heero, his eyes closed, dark hair falling over his face. His torso was bare except for the white bandages that covered the left side of his abdomen. There were a few spots of red where the blood was seeping through the stitches. Relena slowed and walked to his side. She picked up his hand and held it between hers.

He stirred.

"Heero, I'm here," Relena said. He stirred again, and this time, his eyes opened slowly.

"Relena?"

Relena sat down in a chair beside the bed, still holding his hand between hers. "Yes."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, eyelids lowered halfway.

"Sally called me and told me you'd been shot. I didn't want you to be alone," she said. Heero managed a weak smile for her, and his hand tightened around hers.

"Thank you." A warm feeling grew in Relena's chest, and she ducked her head to hide her smile.

* * *

-SE


	24. Chapter 23

Deprogramming  
Chapter 23

-Scarlet Eve

* * *

_Thank you all for coming. In the last few weeks, we've had disquieting actions taken by territories of the ESUN. Some territories want to leave the ESUN in order to govern themselves, despite the financial and economic stability that the ESUN provides to all territories within. Perhaps some have forgotten that the ESUN allows for territories to support their own choices of representation, and that the ESUN meetings have always been an open forum for suggesting change and improvements to the system we've put in place. Perhaps some don't realize what is at stake. _

_Whatever misunderstandings or problems there are can be worked out peacefully. The American territory representatives can bring your concerns to our open forum. And I must add that manufacturing illegal weapons is not the way to peacefully get help. Should those rumors be true, the ESUN will have to take the appropriate, agreed upon action against those responsible. _

_I am not the ambassador for the American territories. My admittedly outdated title means I spend much of my time traveling between Earth and the Colonies, as they are "foreign" to the ESUN. I admit that I do not know of the struggles that those in the American territories may be facing. _

_But I have been receiving threats, including an allusion to an attempt on my life, which is supposed to happen on New Year's Eve. Perhaps there is little to no truth to this allusion, but we take them seriously all the same. But to whoever sent me those threats, I understand you. I am the one at fault, for I dissolved the borders, correct? _

_I do not apologize for my actions as queen, and I will not tolerate threats against my life. Many of us are children of war, so should this situation escalate, let us resolve it peacefully, so we do not create more children of war. _

_Thank you. _

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

Trowa watched from the wings as Relena stepped down from the podium and crossed the stage. What the audience watching did not know was that there were several trained snipers in the catwalks, waiting for anyone to make a sudden movement, with the intent of harming Relena. Because of this, she was able to stride confidently across the stage to the wing, where she was immediately surrounded by a team of Preventer agents. Dorothy broke through her protective ring and slipped her arm through Relena's. Trowa followed along behind as the agents moved Relena towards the exit and her waiting car.

"Beautifully done, Miss Relena. You were strong, and made sure that everyone understand that you will not tolerate any of this nonsense," Dorothy said.

"I hope this will calm the storm, but I worry that it will have the opposite effect. It was a thinly veiled declaration of war," Relena said. Trowa watched her press her hands to her chest, as she often did when nervous or upset.

"But the president, vice president, and secretary all approved of those lines in your speech," Dorothy said. "But I understand that we would prefer things to be done peacefully."

A voice in Trowa's earpiece turned his attention away from Relena and Dorothy's conversation.

"We've got a huge problem," a voice said. It was someone from the command center at the NY Preventer HQ.

"What?" Commander Smith asked. Trowa knew he'd be on his way down from the catwalks to follow in a car behind Relena's.

"American Territories Ambassador Mitchell Rogers has been found dead in his home," the agent said.

_Shit_, Trowa thought to himself. Commander Smith chose stronger words to convey his dismay.

"And the guards sent to protect him?" Smith asked.

"They're… dead as well…" the agent replied, much more strain in his voice. There were probably some friends and comrades among that group.

"Alright people. Minister Darlian needs to be at the Preventer HQ ten minutes ago. Get her moving right now. When we get back there, we'll put together a team to deal with Ambassador Rogers. _Do. Not. Repeat. Any. Of. This._"

Trowa stepped through the circle of Preventers to Relena. "We've got to move, Relena," he said quietly, placing a hand on the small of her back and hurrying her along.

"What's wrong?" Relena asked, the worry in her eyes intensifying. Trowa shook his head.

"Not now," he said. With more urgency, he hurried Relena and Dorothy to the waiting car. Commander Smith was right behind them, barking orders into his cellphone.

Once inside the car, Trowa shut the door and locked it, then let the driver know they could leave. The car rolled forward and slowly navigated through the parking garage, but as soon as the car reached the exit, the driver slammed on the gas pedal and took off, squealing the tires against the pavement, then promptly sliding across the slushy road, traveling in the wrong direction.

Relena and Dorothy shrieked, while Trowa and the other Preventer agent immediately pulled their guns.

"What in God's name is going on?" Dorothy cried out. Trowa crawled towards the window that separated the driver from the passengers and rapt on it, then tried the button to make it open, but it wouldn't budge. And of course, he couldn't see through the window, at least not well enough to make out details. He could only see that there was a person sitting in the driver's seat.

The driver continued his careening drive out of the city, until the car pulled into a parking lot and slid to a halt on some ice, the back end of the car fishtailing. Trowa, who had been keeping his gun trained in the direction of the driver, hadn't noticed the fury that had formed on Relena's face. When the car came to a halt, she threw open the car door and climbed out, her heels clicking on the ice and pavement. Trowa scrambled out behind her, followed by Dorothy and the other agent.

Just as Relena was rounding the car to the driver's side door, the driver climbed out of the car.

"Heya!"

Trowa watched at Relena froze in her tracks and her face twist into further fury.

"DUO!?" Relena cried.

"Hey Princess! Long time, no see!" he said, his hands on his hips as he rounded the car. Relena marched up to Duo, grabbed the lapels of his jacket and yanked him down to her face. The smile he wore disappeared.

"What on _earth _were you thinking?" she growled at him. Trowa had never seen, nor heard, the kind of anger that was seething from Relena at that moment. It frightened him. Even Dorothy was hanging back, watching with a frown.

"I uh… just wanted to see if I could hijack your car," Duo said, though it came out sounding more like a question. Relena's eyes widened and her grip on his coat tightened.

"You _just wanted to see_?" she asked, her voice dropping lower. "Do you understand what you've done? Do you even know what is going on right now?" Duo tried to step back from her, his face fearful now. Whatever joke he had thought he was playing was no longer funny.

"Relena…" Trowa said, stepping closer, but she flashed him a glare that could rival Heero's. Her face turned back to Duo.

"Here's what's going to happen. You're coming with us. That chip is being removed from you, even if I have to do it with my bare hands. Then, I'm having the Preventers lock you up until I decide I'm no longer absolutely furious with you." Trowa watched with mild amusement as Duo actually trembled under her gaze and words.

"But Princess!" Duo tried to say, but she cut him off with just a look.

"Trowa! Keep your gun on him," Relena said. Trowa nodded and moved towards them, ready to grip Duo's arm. Duo moved slightly, but before he could do anything, Relena lunged forward and managed to pull the gun hidden at his back out before he could. She pulled back the hammer and pointed it at his chest. "Oh no. No more shooting people who came out here to find you," she said. Trowa took the gun from Relena and gripped Duo's arm, pulling him towards the car.

"Come on Trowa, you have to listen to me!" Duo said, but Trowa shook his head.

"I'm following Relena's orders right now," Trowa replied, then he met Duo's eyes. "You've really fucked up. You should have known what she'd do if Heero ever got hurt."

"Miss Darlian," the other agent called. "HQ is frantic. Can I tell them you're alright?"

"Yes, and you'll be driving us back to the headquarters, please," she said. The agent nodded and rushed over to the driver's seat. Trowa shoved Duo into the car.

"Whatever you're thinking about doing, you'll want to forget about it," Trowa said. Duo sank back into the seat and scowled.

After Relena climbed back in the car, followed by Dorothy, the agent started up the car to drive them back to the headquarters. For several moments, everyone was silent. Relena was sitting back in the seat, her eyes closed, hands resting lightly in her lap. Finally, after a few minutes, her eyes opened.

"Trowa, what was happening as you ushered us out of the building?" she asked, her voice almost back to normal, the red fury in her face receding. Trowa had almost forgotten.

"Oh, bad news," Trowa said. "The American territories ambassador was found dead in his home, along with his Preventer guards."

Relena and Dorothy gasped, though Relena's was slightly more subdued. Her glare returned and she looked at Duo.

"Did _you _have anything to do with that?" she asked. Duo shook his head vigorously.

"No, I swear," he said, holding up his hands defensively. "But you've gotta listen to me!" He leaned forward in his seat, but Trowa shoved his back. "Please, princess!"

Relena crossed her arms over her chest. "You have five seconds."

"The rebels, the ones who probably killed the Ambassador, they think I'm on their side," he said. "They think the Preventers killed the rebels in that warehouse where you guys found me before."

"Why would they think that, Duo?" Trowa asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because… that's what I told them," Duo replied.

"Of course."

"But I can help you! I can be your spy!" Duo said. Relena's arms were still crossed over her chest, and she looked unconvinced.

"The chip will come out, and I will personally destroy it. Then we'll talk," she said. Her eyes closed once more, and she remained strangely immobile for the rest of the ride back to the Preventer HQ. Trowa had never seen Relena act like that before, not even during the times that she was especially angry at Heero for having left her without a word. He wondered if this was a new development or something she always had in her.

* * *

-SE


	25. Chapter 24

Deprogramming  
Chapter 24

by Scarlet Eve

-Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for reading so far, and for my reviewers. I don't often ask for reviews, but let's try get this story to 100 reviews! It'd be a milestone for me. :-)

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

When the car arrived back at the Preventer HQ, they were met by Sally, Wufei, Commander Smith, Agent Watts, and several other Preventer agents. After Relena stepped out of the car, followed by Dorothy, the agents approached and yanked Duo from the backseat and clapped a set of handcuffs on his wrists. Trowa followed.

Commander Smith rushed to Relena as she was smoothing out the skirt of her suit. "Miss Darlian, I'm so glad you're alright, and I apologize profusely for what happened," he said. Relena looked up at him.

"I'm fine. It's Duo you'll want to deal with," she replied, and turned to face Duo.

"You found him," Commander Smith said in awe. Relena saw Sally and Wufei staring at Duo, shaking their heads.

"He found us, actually, and just for fun, hijacked our car. But don't worry, Commander. He could have done that no matter what, just because of who he is. The current issue is, though, that he has that chip. It needs to be removed immediately. And I want to be the one to destroy it," Relena said. Commander Smith looked slightly taken aback, but he nodded to Relena.

"Of course, Miss Darlian," he said, then turned to the agents who were holding onto him. "Take him to the medical floor." The agents nodded and hauled Duo away. "Is he working for the rebels?"

"He says he is not," Trowa answered, approaching them. Relena glanced at Trowa, who had remained calm and steadfast during the entire ordeal, though she hardly expected him to act differently. Relena touched his arm gently, then turned away to follow the agents down to the medical facility.

"I'll leave this to you," she said, addressing Trowa, who nodded.

Sally jogged to Relena's side in order to catch the elevator with her. "Are you hurt?" Sally asked after the doors had closed.

"No, I'm fine," Relena answered. Sally raised an eyebrow and caught Relena's wrist. She pressed two fingers to her pulse, causing Relena to scowl.

"Your heart is racing. Do you want a mild sedative?" Sally asked.

"No, no, I'm okay," Relena said.

"You'll let me know if you need anything, right?" Sally asked, and Relena nodded, allowing a smile.

"How is he?"

Sally laughed. "The chip may have made Heero stronger and faster and able to withstand huge amounts of pain and bodily harm, but the Heero underneath all that is still just as stubborn as ever, trying to get out of the hospital bed sooner than he should." The elevator halted and the two women stepped out. Near the elevator, the door to Heero's room was open, and he was leaning against the frame. He wore a pair of loose shorts, the bandages on his torso still wrapped around the stitches. At the edges of the stitches, Relena could see dark purple bruising.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked, striding over to his side. His arm was wrapped around his body, the hand pressed lightly to the wound.

"Did they just bring Duo through here?" he asked. Relena stepped up to his side and wrapped an arm around him to help support him. "I heard him yelling profanities."

"Long story," Relena said. "But yes, we found him, and he's going to have the chip removed." Heero shook his head, then lifted his arm and rested it over her shoulders. Sally's phone rang.

"Yes, Commander," she answered after waiting for several moments. She hung up.

"They need me upstairs. I'll be back to check on you two in a little while," Sally said.

"Thank you," Relena replied, and Sally turned to step back into the elevator. Relena helped Heero back into his room.

"What happened?" he asked her after he'd found a semi-comfortable spot leaning against the bed. Relena sighed and wrapped her arms lightly around him, while his hands found the small of her back. While trying to control her emotions, she told him the story of Duo hijacking their car. As she told her story, however, the stress of the day began to overwhelm her, and by the end, there were tears leaking from her eyes.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she finished talking. Heero reached up with both hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Don't be," he said. His hands returned to their place on her back, and he squeezed her a little tighter. "You don't have to be strong in front of me all the time. You know I'll never tell." Through her tears, Relena laughed.

"Thank you, Heero."

Relena looked up at him as he lowered down to capture her lips with his. The pleasure of the kiss collided with the stress and sorrow Relena was feeling, and helped to make her stress disappear just a little, leaving her feeling better than she was before. They pulled away when someone knocked on the door.

The door opened and Agent Watts stepped inside. "Excuse me, Miss Darlian," she said. "The president is on the line and he wishes to speak with you about the Ambassador."

Relena winced slightly. She'd almost forgotten about that in the midst of drama happening around her. "Of course. Just wait outside for a moment," Relena said. Watts nodded and stepped back outside the door, and it shut again. "Don't over exert yourself," Relena said, turning to face Heero once more.

"Same to you," he replied, giving a strand of her hair a gentle tug. Relena pushed herself up on her toes and kissed him once more, a quick peck, then ordered him back to bed. He went mostly willingly, and Relena promised to return when she could.

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_12:45 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

The doctors who were manhandling him were trying to sedate him, but the chip wasn't allowing it. As soon as the sedative made contact with his bloodstream, he could feel, _sense_ the chip working, sending his brain into overdrive to combat the effects of the sedative. It was a strange feeling, but it was also beginning to make him feel physically exhausted.

Not to mention, Zero continued to whisper in his ear: _Kill them._

Zero had wanted him to kill Heero, Trowa, Wufei… even Relena when he saw her. Duo wondered if Heero had the same whispering - the constant urging to kill everyone around him. Most likely, considering his history. But the alterations in the chip's programming that Duo had discovered prevented the chip from actually forcing people to kill each other. Perhaps the final act of mercy from Dr. J.

But the urge was overwhelmingly strong. Now, as he was held down by four huge orderlies, he was fighting the voice in his head, telling him to kill them all.

"He's still not going down," one of the orderlies said, looking over to the doctor in the white lab coat. The Preventer logo was embroidered on the chest over the pocket. Duo squeezed his eyes closed.

"Yuy pulled it out himself. Just do it!" Duo shouted. He was not all that excited about the prospect of losing the chip's abilities, but it would be better than dealing with the poking of needs and the steel grips of the orderlies. The doctor stared at Duo, but he shrugged his shoulders.

"Flip him over, then," the doctor said. Duo flipped over onto his stomach willingly. "We'll at least try to numb the pain." Duo waited, but nothing like relief came, though he could see the doctor injecting something into the IV. "I'll go over the incisions that were made before."

Duo felt a cool pressure against his neck, but he felt no pain. His skin tugged against whatever tool the doctor was using to slice him open. Sensing danger, the chip reared up the programming, and he almost lost his control.

"Guys!" he shouted, and the grip of the orderlies tightened. He could feel his body straining against them, trying desperately to get away. But Duo fought back as hard as he could, to resist the physical urge to move. He was beginning to see how unpredictable the chip could make a person, forcing them to move without the brain's compliance.

As Duo fought mentally against the chip, and while the doctor carefully cut open his skin to remove the device, memories of Heero began to click into place, ranging from his ability to set bones, to his constantly need for movement, and his reclusive nature. To have so much inner battling going on in his mind must have been a strain.

"Almost…" the doctor said, his voice strained a bit. Duo felt a hard pull, then something gave way.

All at once, pain, emotions, thoughts, and feelings came rushing in from all sides, and he began to lose consciousness, almost like shutting down a computer.

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Heero_

Heero was getting antsy. In the past, part of the reason he'd always escaped the hospital rooms was because it was horrible for him to be lying still, doing nothing. He'd fallen asleep after Relena left, but now he was awake and wanting to be moving around, doing something productive.

Sally had brought down Heero's clothes for him, so he eased himself out of bed and dug through the bag. He was already wearing athletic shorts, but he found a black t-shirt and pulled it on over his head, trying to move carefully as to not pull the stitches on his side. He found socks and shoes, and with difficulty, managed to put those on as well. Then he left the room.

As he stepped out, he heard his name. Sally was walking down the hallway, carrying a clipboard.

"Heero, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I can't lay there anymore," he said. Sally gave him a stern look, but she knew him well enough not to press the issue.

"I see. Well, Duo is still knocked out from getting the chip removed. We think the chip fought the effects of the sedative, and without it, he was completely knocked out," Sally said. Heero chuckled. "The chip has been cleaned, and I'm taking it up to Relena right now."

"Why Relena?" Heero asked, concerned. There was no reason why she should need it. Sally smiled.

"Relena wants to destroy it," Sally answered. She held up the clear plastic bag that contained the small, silver chip. "We know that the rebels had gotten their hands on the code, but I hardly think we need to worry much about them recreating it. At least, if they did, it would be more than anyone could handle."

"And it's illegal to mine, transport, and manufacture with gundanium," Heero said. "Not that it will stop anyone, though."

"Most of the people who knew how to deal with it, especially in this small of a form, died in the war," Sally reminded him. Heero shrugged, conceding the point. "Well, come on. You might as well join me upstairs." Sally led the way to the elevator. Heero followed, his hand still pressed on the stitches to try and keep the surrounding skin from pulling. His mind flashed back to the time when he'd set his own broken bone and splinted it with a wrench. He had no memory of the pain involved in that, but he did remember Duo's noises of disgust. Now though, the aches in his body from being shot reminded him with every step that he'd been injured. He knew he was better off without having the Zero system program his brain, but in some case… it was useful.

On the tenth floor, Heero followed Sally into a conference room. Relena was seated at the table, and she'd discarded her suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. She was furiously typing on a laptop. Commander Smith was across from her, flipping through some documents.

"Relena," Sally said when she entered the room. Relena looked up from her laptop. "Here." Sally held up the bag with the chip. Relena rose and hurried to her side to take the bag.

"Heero, you're out of bed again," Relena said, glancing at him. Heero shrugged and gave her a smile. Relena smiled back and turned away, raising up the plastic bag in front of her face.

"Are you sure we should destroy it?" Commander Smith asked, slowly rising from his chair at the conference table to reach out towards the bag Relena held up. "Maybe we could-" Relena cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"No. Don't even say it. That's what happened the first time, and it's what happened when they kidnapped Duo and put it in him. We're getting rid of it, once and for all," Relena said. Heero couldn't help but find the forcefulness in Relena's voice and demeanor very attractive. It was that part of her personality that originally had showed him that she was more than meets the eye.

Relena tossed down the chip on the table and opened her bag. From it, she withdrew a handful of tools, slim metal things. Heero had no idea where she'd found them, but he watched with interest as she picked one out of the pile and removed the chip from the plastic bag. The room was silent as she interested the tool into the corner of the chip. With some effort, she popped the gundanium casing apart. Heero frowned.

It was that easy?

He stood up from the chair and circled around to stand at Relena's shoulder. With the guts of the chip exposed, Heero could see that there wasn't anything special about it. He watched Relena with wonder as she prodded the innards with her small tool, pulling tiny wires from where they'd been soldered. With the small tool, she pried out the smaller pieces until they came apart in her hand.

"How did you know it would be this easy?" Heero asked her. Relena glanced at him over her shoulder, then shrugged.

"Well I sort of figured if it was the only one made, that it must have been hand made," she said with uncertainty. "I borrowed these from the IT department here," she added, gesturing to the tools. Heero blinked once, then looked around the room at the others. Everyone else had looks of disbelief and confusion, just like Heero. Relena glanced around the room. "What?"

"You are very proficient at that, Miss Darlian," Commander Smith said.

"Well, look who I hang around with!"

The room broke out into laughter, and even Heero had to smile. He watched Relena dump the pieces into the bag, then drop the bag on the floor. With the sole of her shoe, she crunched the fragile computer bits into tiny pieces. Heero touched her on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Relena," he said quietly, keeping his voice below the level of conversation in the room. Relena touched his hand and gave him a smile.

* * *

-SE


	26. Chapter 25

Deprogramming  
Chapter 25

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

Duo was brought into the conference room in the floor below the medical center. This particular floor was more like a room one might see in a movie - metal tables, cinder block walls, hanging fluorescent lighting. Trowa, Heero, and Wufei were seated along one wall of the room in uncomfortable metal chairs, while Commander Smith and Sally sat at the table in the middle of the room. When the door opened, a Preventer agent dragged in Duo, who was looking worse for the wear. A white bandage was wrapped around his neck, covering the stitches that closed the gap where the chip had been removed.

"You could at least feed me," Duo said. "Am I really a prisoner here?" He dropped into the chair on the other side of the table, his hands hanging off his knees, shoulders slumped forward.

"Well, you did kidnap the Vice Foreign Minister…" Commander Smith said, looking up from the folder in front of him on the table. Sally began to take notes on the tablet she had resting in front of her.

"I would never _hurt_ her," Duo said. "Besides, I promised her I could help you guys, now that the chip is gone."

"How?" Smith asked. Duo sighed and leaned back in his chair. Trowa raised an eyebrow and watched him as he closed his eyes and began to speak.

"_I_ was kidnapped from my home in the colonies one night. I was awake the whole time, but they had tied me up really well. It wasn't hard to eventually figure out that they were bringing me to Earth. While they were transporting me, I heard them discussing the chip. Someone they knew had been able to intercept it when it landed in the depot in the American territories. It was being scanned, and the guy noticed that it was a strange metal, and resembled the chip in the information they had intercepted between me and Heero. Unfortunately, they have some talented hackers on their side. I killed one of them at the warehouse, but there are others.

"I was brought to New York, their central location for the rebels, and taken into a gross basement cell. In there, they installed the chip in my neck, just like it had been for Heero. Obviously, they know little about the Zero system, other than what they read. They're lucky they put it in me, otherwise they'd all be dead. The chip commands that you kill everyone around you."

Trowa looked up abruptly and glanced at Heero. The other pilot had his arms and legs crossed, and his chin was down, eyes closed. He made no move when Duo let this piece of information out.

"But you didn't…?" Smith asked.

"No, but I'm a Gundam pilot. We have special kinds of skills and training. I was able to resist the urging of the chip, but part of that was because of the change in the coding that was done before the chip was installed, allowing the person to have some sliver of humanity left. Anyway, they underestimated me, and I broke free, and almost got away before they caught me again - and the little gun I stole was no match for their semi-autos. I went quietly to their next location, which was the warehouse. I pretended to fall in line with their wishes, just enough to make them believe that I was working for them. When they dropped their guard, I fought back and killed everyone at the warehouse. After they were dead, I told the other rebels that it was the Preventers that killed them all.

"Before that, though, I heard about their plan to assassinate the ESUN member, that ambassador. They talked about it in front of me, but some other group hiding somewhere else was going to do the job. They thought that it would be a harsh blow to the ESUN, and show that they are serious about breaking away. I suppose they succeeded."

The room fell silent for a moment while everyone absorbed Duo's tale.

"You're going to lead us to the rebels," Commander Smith said. Duo nodded vigorously.

"I will help, I swear!" Commander Smith let his eyes trail around the room, looking at each person.

"You all heard him," he said, then moved his gaze back to Duo. "I don't know you like these agents do, Mr. Maxwell, so I can't say I have a lot of trust. But I'm giving you this chance. If anything goes awry, and we find out it's your fault, the consequences will be harsh."

Duo dropped his chin. "Fair enough," he said. Commander Smith rose, followed by Sally.

"Miss Po, please make sure he signs an NDA, just in case. Then you can let him go," Smith said, then excused himself from the room.

The room was silent again, save for Sally rustling her papers until she pulled out a single white form. She pushed it across the table to Duo, along with a pen.

"This form states that anything you see, hear, or do while working for this organization is protected information, and that you will not share that information with anyone else, or you'll be prosecuted," she explained. Duo waved a hand while he scrawled his name at the bottom.

"Yeah, yeah. I sign these things all the time," he said.

Trowa sighed and stood up from the chair, arching his back in a stretch to relieve the pressure from the uncomfortable hardness. Heero and Wufei followed suit, while Sally unlocked the cuffs on Duo's wrist.

"Are you sure you can handle being a double agent, Maxwell?" Wufei asked, walking to Duo to thump him on the shoulder.

"Yuy did it all the time. It can't be that hard," Duo replied, giving a devilish grin to Heero, who didn't respond. Wufei chuckled. "I believe Trowa did as well, and even you Wufei. If you losers can do it, I can."

Trowa shook his head with a smile and followed the group as they left the room. Sally led the way to the elevator, which took them back up above ground to the 10th floor of the building. Once the doors slid open, Trowa spotted Relena talking on her cell phone in the hallway, pacing back and forth. His instinct was to go to her side, but Heero beat him to it, striding across the hall to her, even though he was still visibly in pain.

Trowa felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"Let her go," Wufei murmured.

"You sound like Catherine," Trowa replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Then you should be listening to us. Those two are bonded by more than just the war," Wufei said. Trowa glanced at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Lets just say - if I believed in God - that I would have thought he decided those two should be together. There's nothing you can do to change it."

"I don't believe in one true loves," Trowa mumbled. Wufei shrugged his shoulders.

"Neither do I, but as I said, there's just some things you can't change." With that, Wufei walked off down the hall, jogging a bit to catch up with Sally.

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

"The president will be arriving in New York early tomorrow morning," Relena said, looking up from her tablet. Dorothy was sitting across from her at the conference room table, working on a laptop. Relena sighed and rested her chin in her hand.

"Is he going to hold a press conference?" Dorothy asked, glancing up from the screen. Relena shrugged.

"He hasn't decided. He's still consulting with Une and Commander Smith about whether or not that's a good idea. He has to say something, so most likely it will be a broadcast from somewhere in this building with no press," Relena replied.

"Understandable. Have they scheduled the funeral yet?"

"Monday. There will be a semi-public wake in the morning and the private funeral will be in the early afternoon." Dorothy nodded, then looked back at her laptop. Relena reluctantly turned her attention back to her tablet, where more and more emails were arriving. Exhaustion was weighing heavily on her at this point, and she desperately wanted to go to sleep. A headache pounded in her head, and her eyes were dry and heavy. But there was so much do, and so many people to try and placate. As usual, the colony officials were angry, asking her, to quote "what the hell is going on down there." She only wished she knew what to tell them.

The door to the conference room opened and a young woman stepped inside. She didn't have a Preventer uniform on, but she had a badge hanging from her white blouse. She smiled and bowed her head to Relena and Dorothy.

"Excuse me, Miss Darlian, Miss Catalonia. My name is Tara Simmons. I'm Commander Smith's administrative assistant. I'm here to show you to your rooms," she said, smiling politely as she spoke. Relena exhaled a sigh of relief. Tara waited patiently while Relena and Dorothy gathered up their things. "We've got you set up in some of our rooms near your agents," Tara added when Relena and Dorothy were ready to go. "We hope you'll be comfortable, though they're not quite as nice as a hotel. But considering the circumstances…."

"We'll be perfectly fine, thank you," Relena said with a smile. She knew Dorothy was less than excited about staying anywhere other than a five star hotel, but at least she understood the safety concerns. With rebellious people all over the city, it was better for them to stay in the protection of the Preventers.

Tara smiled and led the two women to the elevators. They dropped floor after floor until they reached one of the sublevels. Once there, they were led through a tunnel, which was dimly let, but carpeted. It was almost like an attempt to resemble a hotel. At the end of the hallway, there was another bank of elevators. Tara pressed the up button, and the doors slid open. The three women stepped inside, and they went up two floors.

"The only way to get to the temporary quarters is from that tunnel we just walked through. There are no doors in this particular part of the building that lead to the outside," Tara explained. The doors to the elevator opened and they stepped into a hall that resembled the lower tunnel. Tara produced two key cards from her pocket and handed one to each of them. There were numbers printed on the cards. "Those are your room numbers. There are also phone numbers in the room if you need anything."

"Thank you," Relena said. Tara smiled and bowed, then excused herself by stepping back into the elevator. Relena and Dorothy glanced at each other, shrugged, and swiped their keycards. The door to Relena's room unlocked with a _click_, and she pushed it open.

The room was like any hotel room, and Relena chided herself for expecting anything different. These rooms were mostly inhabited by Preventers who were there on a temporary basis and new agents before they began their training. Though someone had brought up Relena's luggage, which was nice. It sat on the floor beside the bed.

Dorothy appeared in the doorway. "Is it absolutely necessary that we stay here?" Dorothy asked, her voice slipping into a whine. Relena shook her head.

"Yes," she replied. "Our safety can't be guaranteed at another location." Dorothy scoffed and stepped back from the door.

"You have been spending too much time with those Gundam pilots," she said, then strode back over to her own room. Relena smiled to herself and let the door close behind her.

* * *

-SE


	27. Chapter 26

Deprogramming  
Chapter 26

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

A/N: YAY! 100 reviews! A milestone for me. ha. I hope everyone had a good holiday season. PS Disclaimer: I read about the end of Frozen Teardrop. I still hate it. :-P

* * *

_December 27, A.C. 201_

_6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

When Trowa entered the command center, he saw that it was already occupied by several American agents, but also Duo and Heero. Both pilots, looking worse for the wear, were hunched over a computer terminal. Trowa approached them, leaning slightly over their shoulders.

"Hey Trowa," Duo said, glancing up with a grin.

"How are you feeling?" Trowa asked, and Duo responded with a shrug.

"I only had the chip for maybe a week or so. Not hard to adapt back to being a normal human," he said, a grin on a face. Trowa nodded, then looked back to the screen that Heero was working on.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm helping Heero locate the other hideouts of these rebels," Duo said. He pointed with a finger at the map on the screen. "There," he said. Heero tapped a few keys and a location marker appeared. "They move a lot, so we'll have to keep up on them. The goal will be to bring down their ringleader. I really believe he's the one that's pushing everyone else to this rebellion. Without him, the rebellion would die out."

"You can't be sure of that," Heero mumbled.

"No, but we can always pick off the successors, if there are any, as they come up," Duo said. "These guys would talk about the leader like he was some kind of saint, but I'm not convinced they are one-hundred percent into the cause."

Trowa raised his eyebrows, surprised at the insight Duo had about the rebels. Normally Duo was just a surface-issue kind of guy, and rarely ever delved down into the deeper issues.

"How did you learn this?" Trowa asked. Duo spun his chair around to face Trowa, and relaxed into an overconfident posture.

"These guys are seriously amateurs. The soldiers who fought in the wars aren't going to try and start another war. They'd be crazy to do that. So of course, these rebels would talk near where they had me locked up, and I could hear everything," Duo replied. "The only one who might have military training would be their leader."

"Do you know his name?" Heero asked, not looking away from the computer.

"Nah, they'd only refer to him as Mars, for the God of War in Roman mythology," Duo said. "Lame." Trowa smirked.

"There's not much else we can do tonight," Heero said, turning away from the console after shutting down the work he'd been doing. "Tomorrow, after the president arrives, we'll have to make a plan for checking out these locations."

"Good, I'm beat," Duo said. He rose up from his chair and stretched his arms overhead. "See you guys later." Duo strode away and out the door of the command room.

Trowa caught a glance from Heero, then sighed. "We need to talk." Heero turned away.

"About what?"

"Her."

Heero sighed heavily and stood up from the chair, wincing slightly. He pressed his hand to his side where the bullet had hit him.

"What is there to discuss?" Heero asked, leveling his gaze at Trowa, who tried not to look away from the stare. Before Trowa could speak, Heero added, "I'm not one for discussing _feelings._"

Trowa had talked himself up to having this discussion, but he was faltering already. Somehow Heero had taken over as the one with the power in this situation.

"I can't change the way I feel, but we shouldn't allow this to disrupt our friendship," Trowa said. Heero continued to stare at him, arms crossed over his chest. "And I suppose Relena will do as she pleases, as she always has." To Trowa's surprise, a smile formed on Heero's lips, but only for a moment, before his scowled returned. "I won't get in your way," Trowa finally said. Heero's face softened.

"I can never repay you for watching over her while I was gone," Heero said. Trowa shook his head.

"I never expected anything," he replied, then finally looked away. Silence stretched between them, and Trowa began to feel more and more awkward. He looked back at Heero, nodded once, then turned and left the command room, leaving the conversation where it was. Knowing himself and knowing Heero, it was as much of an apology and truce as they were ever likely to exchange. There was no sense in making it potentially worse by pressing the issue.

The other half of this situation needed to be dealt with, so Trowa followed the now familiar path back to the temporary living quarters. They'd all received a memo of the rooms where Relena and Dorothy would be staying, along with the President and his people when they arrived the following day. Trowa found Relena's room easily and knocked on the door. When she opened the door, she was dressed in a familiar outfit: her favorite comfortable pajama pants and a loose sweater, both in varying shades of pink.

"Trowa!" She genuinely seemed surprised to see him, and he wasn't sure how that made him feel.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," Trowa said. Relena shook her head no, and pulled the door open wider to admit him. It looked like she was in the middle of unpacking, as a drawer was hanging open and a few articles of clothing were still lying folded on the bed. Her laptop and tablet were sitting on the desk.

"I won't be long. I just wanted to say something," Trowa said, after Relena perched on the edge of the bed. He sat down beside her, his hands dropping between his knees, shoulders rounded. "I talked to Heero. I do care for you, Relena, but I'm not going to get in the way of you and Heero," he said, struggling the whole way to find the words. Relena remained silent for a moment, then she lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder.

"You've been, and are, an invaluable friend to me, Trowa. I apologize that I could not return your feelings," she said. Trowa gave her a smile, then rose up to his feet. Relena followed suit and wrapped him in a hug. He returned it, though his mind was telling him not to linger. He pulled away and bowed his head to her.

"Good night, Relena."

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_6:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

Relena, barely awake yet, stood off to the side of the helicopter landing pad, watching as the brown Preventer helicopter bearing the President Milan Nussbaum of the ESUN hovered and landed. He'd arrived at the airport not long ago, and the helicopter brought him to the Preventer HQ, to avoid having to deal with ground traffic. After the assassination of the American Ambassador, security was on high alert for everyone.

Dorothy stood beside Relena, her hands clasped in front of her. She sighed.

"I was really hoping for a laid back New Years, for once," Dorothy said. Relena smiled at her friend, though sadly.

"We were born to this," Relena commented, her eyes turning back towards the helicopter. The blades were slowing while the door on the side slid open, revealing a Preventer agent and two of the President's own security guards. The President soon followed, his hair and clothing rumpling in the wind.

"But can't people decide to rebel when the weather is nicer?" Dorothy asked.

"You're starting to sound like Duo," Relena replied, giving her friend a grin. Dorothy winced.

"Not a kind thing to say, my dear." Relena laughed and rested a hand briefly on Dorothy's shoulder before she stepped up to greet Milan. Her hair whipped around her face, not so much from the helicopter anymore, but the winter winds blowing over the tall building that looked out over the New York skyline. Milan approached her, one hand on his hair, trying to smooth it back down.

"I'm pleased you arrived safely," Relena said, reaching out to grasp his hands. He returned the gesture.

"It's a fine mess we seem to have gotten ourselves into," he said with sarcasm, a frown on his face. Relena gave him a sad smile and released his hands.

"We'll pull through like we always do," she said, trying to be positive, but not feeling it herself. Relena moved towards the door to the elevator that would take them down into the building, with Dorothy falling in step, and the other agents following behind.

"Losing Mitchell is a blow," Milan lamented. "I thought he'd be more effective if I sent him here to the Americas, but clearly I underestimated this rebel group."

"Don't blame yourself, Mr. President," Dorothy said, lightly touching the older man's arm. "I don't think anyone expected them to take such extreme measures." Milan nodded, but he hardly seemed convinced. Relena couldn't really blame him, considering the amount of uncertainty she felt.

The elevator took the group down several floors, then it slid to a stop. The doors opened with a soft _ping_, and they filed off. Commander Smith was waiting outside of his office door, talking to the Brussels Preventers. Relena met Heero's eyes for a moment when she stepped off the elevator, and he gave her a brief smile. He was looking better every day after getting shot, but it was definitely taking him longer to recover his faculties. Relena didn't think that the chip had anything to do with how quickly he healed, but rather assumed it dulled the pain and perhaps increased the brain power needed to keep moving after an injury. Without it, Heero still had the conviction of a soldier to fight on, but he had to heal without the help, just like anyone else.

Relena wondered what other changes he would discover as time went on.

* * *

_A few days ago, a member of our world government, Americas Ambassador Mitchell Rogers, was found dead in his home, along with the Preventer agents who were assigned to protect him. In his role, Ambassador Rogers was the voice of the American territories. He brought issues of the territory to the rest of the government, and worked hard to improve the quality of life for the people living in his constituency. When the news of the rebellion and protests reached his ears, he was obviously upset, and worked long hours every day to try and stop the protests - he wanted to make sure his people were happy._

_But he was murdered. _

_And for what reason? _

_To be honest with you, I still don't know. _

_As with every form of government, there are people who are unhappy with the way things are. I think I would worry more if all people were complacent in their day-to-day lives, and never complained about anything that might be wrong with the way their government operates. _

_But I implore you to use reason when there is something wrong with the way the government operates. Fighting, murder, defacing the image of government officials - these things do not promote change. Using your words is a more effective, more peaceful way to get your point across. _

_I am in New York City. I am willing to speak to those who rebel against the government. Let us work together to solve these issues. Contact the Preventer Headquarters in New York City, and let's talk. _

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Heero_

Heero stood beside Relena, outside of the range of the camera that was filming the President as he spoke. Relena had her arms crossed over her chest and an unhappy look on her face. Heero slipped a hand onto her waist and leaned closer to her, gently allowing some of his weight against her body; his wound was still painful. An ugly purple bruise covered most of his side and was sensitive to touch.

"What's wrong, Relena?" Heero asked her in a whisper. Relena's lips pursed together, and she turned her face towards him, but not completely. Her eyes remained locked on the president.

"I don't like this idea," she said. "I have a bad feeling about it." Heero nodded once, understanding her concern.

"It's not the only tactic we're using," he said to her. This time she looked at him fully.

"What do you mean?"

"We're going out after this, to look into some more possible locations of the rebels. We managed to find a few with Duo's help. And… we're sending Duo back out to the rebels to act as a spy," Heero explained to her. Relena shook her head.

"I don't like that idea either," she said. Heero raised an eyebrow. "But then, I don't have any ideas of my own." She released a sigh and tilted her head towards his, until their temples were touching. "I'm just at a loss with this whole ordeal." Heero tightened his grip on her waist.

"You're not in this alone, Relena," Heero said. Beneath his touch, he felt her body relax, if only marginally.

"You're right."

The President finished his speech and remained still until the director waved to signal that the feed had ended. Milan released a heavy sigh and dropped his chin, his eyes closed. He remained at the podium a moment longer while those gathered around him waited in silence. Finally, he lifted his chin and glanced around.

"Now we wait, I suppose."

Heero grunted softly in the back of his throat - this was his cue to meet up with the others. He released his hold on Relena and straightened up, trying to ignore the pain from his shifting muscles. Though anticipation for the mission was coursing through him, he immediately missed the comfort that Relena gave, even if it was inadvertent. Before leaving the room, he rested his hands on her shoulders.

"I'll be back soon," he said. Relena looked up at him, blue eyes full of concern, but she nodded. A grim expression had formed on her face.

"Please don't do anything stupid," she said, and Heero couldn't help but smile. Instead of responding, he quickly pressed a kiss to her lips, released her shoulders and turned away.

When Heero arrived at the men's locker room, he found Wufei and Trowa already there, along with several other Preventer agents, whose names he did not know. They were already dressed in black Preventer uniforms, and together were going through their weapons. Heero had a moment of deja vu from when they first left Brussels to come to New York. Surely it wasn't just a few days ago…

Heero found a pile of black clothes with his name on a piece of paper. He unfolded the uniform and began to change.

Duo entered the locker room, wearing plain clothes. A brimmed hat was pulled over his hair and a long black jacket covered the rest of him. "Commander Smith is having me leave now. It'll take me an hour to get to the location without Preventer transportation," Duo explained. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a small device. "I have my communicator, so I'll be in touch."

"Don't blow this," Wufei said. Duo rolled his eyes.

"I think you're just jealous you don't get to play double agent," Duo replied with a snarky grin. Wufei shook his head and ignored him. Heero watched Trowa approach Duo and shake his hand, speaking encouraging words. As Trowa stepped away, Heero returned to pulling on the thermal long sleeve shirt, careful not to brush against his bruise side.

Duo approached him and held out a hand. "Be careful, Yuy," Duo said. He kept his voice low, perhaps to keep his words from being overheard by the other two pilots. "I have a little more understanding of what you went through, and I can imagine how you are probably feeling now. Don't overexert yourself."

Heero was slightly surprised by the serious tone in Duo's voice, and for once, Heero nodded and gripped Duo's hand in return. Having listened to Duo's account of what happened after he was taken from his home, Heero knew Duo felt exactly what it was like under the chip's command - the constant urging to kill all unnecessary people within his vicinity. And how much Heero struggled.

"Plus, Relena would probably kill me on principal if anything happened to you." Heero allowed a smile.

"That is a distinct possibility," Heero agreed. Duo grinned, gave Heero a mock salute, then spun on his heel.

"Later losers!" he called out to the room, then disappeared through the door. Heero shook his head and returned to changing. A moment later, the door opened once more, but this time, Sally stuck her head in.

"Are you all decent?" she asked, glancing around. No one responded to her, so she pushed open the door and stepped inside, followed by the other agent, Leigh Watts.

"What if we hadn't been?" Wufei asked, throwing a glare at Sally, who ignored it and shrugged her shoulders.

"_I_ don't care, but we have new friends here," Sally said, gesturing to Agent Watts, who was now blushing. Heero finished changing by pulling on a black coat over his clothes. Sally flipped open a folder in her hands. "We're splitting into teams again, at least for the time being. Since Duo is heading towards the most likely location, we're checking out the others. We're going to give him a few days to try and gather some intel before we storm the place," Sally said. "We're looking for any left over computers, storage devices, papers, etcetera. Hilde and Une had been busy trying to keep up with their movements in cyberspace, but these rebels are oddly skilled at hiding. So any help we can give them would be great. We need to make sure they're not planning on manufacturing another chip. And though I wish I didn't have to add this, we're looking for anyone who might have been left behind… alive or dead." She glanced around the room at the gathered agents. "Let's go."

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_11:30 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

It had taken him longer than he expected to locate the hiding place of the rebel group. Not only did Duo get lost trying to navigate the subway system, the location was far from any subway stop, which meant he had to walk. He didn't want to risk hiring a taxi and having those people see him being dropped off.

In fact, he wasn't about to waltz back into their midst without staking them out first.

Their hideout was another abandoned warehouse, though this one seemed to be an upgrade compared to the previous one. It was still old, though, so Duo had no trouble finding a perch outside the building where he could watch through the many broken windows that lined the top of the walls. Members of the group were moving around on the lower floor, some working on computers.

"Please, stop!" A cry cut through the ambient noise of the room. Duo scanned the room, looking for the source of the cry. In a far corner, he saw a tall man standing over another man, who was crumpled on the floor at his feet. The man on the floor had his hands up over his head, trying to protect himself. "I'll do whatever you say!"

The big man took a step back to face the gathered rebels, and Duo could see his face now. He recognized him from a picture in the rebels' database: it was "Mars," the leader of the rebellion group. The guy was grizzled from battle, his dark hair long, the ends sticking out in spikes down his back. Muscular shoulders and arms blended into a thick torso and long legs. Duo grimaced at the idea of hand-to-hand combat with the guy; he could probably sit on Duo and crush the life out of him.

"Make sure this idiot gets back to his office," Mars said, and two rebels with rifles scrambled forward to comply. Together, they hoisted the man up off the floor by the arms and dragged him from the warehouse. Duo was too far from the door they used to catch up without being noticed, so he was forced to let it go. He watched for a few more minutes while Mars sat his hulking self down in a chair and began to bark orders at some of the rebels. Duo rubbed a hand down his face. It was time.

As silently as possible, Duo scaled down the side of the warehouse and landed on the ground. Snow and ice crunched around his boots as he walked towards a door. If he was right about the layout of the warehouse, the door would lead into a smaller room, from which he would emerge into the larger area. Duo yanked on the door, but it was stuck. With a groan, he stepped back and landed a kick at the seam between the door and the door frame. Something released, and Duo was able to wrench the door open. Sure enough, it opened into a small closet - the smell of chemicals that assaulted his nose told him the room was a janitor's closet of some sort.

Trying not to breathe too deeply, Duo reached up and brushed a hand over the stitches on his neck, the ones that matched the scar that was likely to linger on Heero's own neck. Tugging at his hair, he pulled a few more strands loose to cover the area. The last thing he needed was for them to find out the chip was gone, not to mention, destroyed.

_Alright Duo - just channel your inner Heero… or Wufei,_ he thought to himself. He set an annoyed expression on his face, then kicked open the door from the closet and stepped into the main room.

* * *

-SE


	28. Chapter 27

Deprogramming  
Chapter 27

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: I seriously did not expect this story to be this long. If you've lasted this long, THANK YOU! I have the rest of the fic outlined, and I have a lot of project pieces in the pipelines for you guys that I really hope you'll enjoy, since I've had a ton of fun writing them. :-)

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

The noise in the room diminished with Duo's entrance. Eyes turned to him, staring wide-eyed at him as he barged into the room, adopting a swagger in his walk. He put his best Heero-esque expression on his face and continued his walk towards Mars.

"Where have you been?" Someone shouted at him. Duo didn't bother to look around, since he had no idea who was talking to him. Duo shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"Around."

Up ahead of him, Mars was staring at him from his chair, arms crossed over his broad chest, a scowl on his face. As Duo got closer, Mars rose up from his chair.

"We assumed you'd been kidnapped," he said. Duo answered him by shaking his head.

"Nope, just laying low. The last place got raided by Preventer so I had to hide out," Duo said. He walked around Mars, who followed him with his eyes, and dropped down in the chair Mars had vacated. Mars looked startled for a moment and anger filled his face.

"Did you manage to kill any of them?" Mars asked through gritted teeth.

"Naw, just shot one of them. Didn't kill him though," Duo said. Mars stared at him with a brow lifted skeptically. "I figured it was in my best interest to not get caught." Mars continued to stare at him until Duo had to fight the urge to squirm. With effort, Duo plastered on a cheesy grin, at least until Mars stepped close to him, grabbed a fistful of the front of Duo's jacket and forcibly removed him from the chair. Duo managed to catch himself on his feet when Mars released him, but he backed away casually, trying to avoid drawing more attention.

Mars looked out among the gathered rebels.

"We're going to make a strike," he began, his eyes sweeping over the gathered rebels. Duo saw some of them seemed to tremble under the man's gaze. "The president has given us the opportunity to 'talk to him,' and I think we're going to take him up on that." Mars rose from his chair, and Duo resisted the urge to steal the seat again. Mars walked over to a computer and gestured to the man sitting in front of it. The man scrambled to comply, pulling up a map. Duo stared at it, and slowly began to realize it was an overhead view of the Preventer HQ in New York. Mars pointed to the area in front of the building.

"We're going to gather out front here, all of us, and as many protestors as we can find. We'll demand to speak to the President," he said, pointing to the screen. The rebels crowded around the computer monitor to watch. "Undoubtedly, the President will have himself and ourselves surrounded by guards. He's not going to take any chances. Our objective will be to gather information, while I discuss our _concerns_ with the President. I will put together two teams, one for the inside of the building, and one for the outside of the building, and each team will perform their reconnaissance while I am with the President. Afterwards, we're going to meet back here. Robert here," Mars slapped the shoulder of the man at the computer. "will be providing maps to the teams. And after that, I believe we'll have enough information to take them down."

Duo watched and listened with a smirk on his face. He figured it would come across as excitement to the others, which was why he didn't bother to hide it. Instead, he was mentally recording Mars' words, which he would be relaying back to the Preventers as soon as he could. They'd be able to take down the rebels quickly, as they were basically walking into the Preventers' hands.

Duo crossed his arms over his chest and continued to watch. Mars began to walk around, talking to people and directing them into groups. He paused at a group of younger men, Duo guessed they couldn't be older than eighteen or nineteen years old, and spoke to them. "Go stir up trouble to bring in the protesters," Mars said. The boys grinned and nodded, pulled their hoods up over their heads, and left through one of the side doors of the warehouse.

Mars eventually made his way to Duo. "I need you on the outside, leading the team there," he said. "I imagine that the Preventers would be happy to get their hands on you." A wicked grin formed on Mars' face, and it unnerved Duo slightly. In response, Duo shrugged his shoulders.

"No problem." Mars narrowed his gaze at Duo.

"How did you escape when we had you locked up?" he asked. Duo made a show of rolling his eyes.

"Those guards I had were amateurs," Duo said. "Didn't even know how to properly aim a gun." Mars frowned.

"I see."

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

The first few locations had been quick. Just glancing through the dirty, smudged windows told them that the locations were abandoned or never used by the rebels. Along with Heero and Agent Watts, they cleared those locations quickly.

It was the last location on their list that caused trouble.

As Agent Watts drove their vehicle up to the final location, it was clear that there was activity at the site. Group of people were standing outside together, huddled together while smoking cigarettes. Watts put the vehicle in reverse and moved slowly down the road until they were hidden between two buildings. They quietly got out of the car.

Heero was already on his communicator.

"We've located rebels," he said. After a response, he rattled off the GPS coordinates to Sally, most likely, on the other side. To Trowa and Watts, he said, "Sally and her team are on their way. They want us to wait." Trowa could tell by the expression on his face that Heero didn't want to wait, but he leaned his back against the car, his rifle crossed over the front of his body. Trowa shifted in the snow, wondering why they weren't waiting in the car, where it was warmer.

Watts appeared beside Trowa, pulling her hood closer around her face with one hand. "Trowa?"

"Hm?"

"What was it like being a Gundam pilot?"

Trowa shifted his gaze to the shorter woman. She was staring up at him, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Well, it was dangerous, and sometimes futile, painful, confusing…" he began, trailing off as memories began to flood his mind. He looked at Heero, and the memory of his body flying through the air after self-detonating resurfaced. "By all rights, the five of us should probably be dead."

"But we hung on," Heero added, his voice flat. Trowa nodded.

"Along the way, we found things to fight for, instead of just our mission, which could have gone on whether we were alive or not," Trowa added. Watts shook her head.

"That's not true. Libra would have destroyed us all if Wing Zero hadn't stopped it," she said. "At my base here in the Americas, we watched the feeds from the colonies, hoping that we'd all make it through alive." Briefly, Trowa met Heero's gaze before the other man looked away again. "And we would have lost Miss Relena along the way, I'm sure."

"By all rights, she should be dead, too," Heero said with a laugh. "But she managed to hang on as well."

"Tenaciously," Trowa mumbled, mostly to Watts. She grinned.

"I joined the Preventers as soon as the chapter opened here in New York. I never made it onto the battlefield, so I wanted to put my training to use here," Watts said. Almost wistfully, she added, "I hope I can travel to the original headquarters in Brussels some day. I'd love to meet Colonel Une."

Trowa rested a hand lightly on her shoulder. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Watts opened her mouth to reply, but a car appeared at the end of the road, rolling slowly over the packed snow. Heero pushed himself off the side of the car, and the three waited for the rest of their team to arrive. Sally pulled the car up beside the other and cut the engine.

"Our locations were all empty as well. They didn't leave anything behind this time," Sally said after she'd gotten out of the car. Once Wufei was beside her, she nodded. "Let's go."

Together they walked along the buildings, leaving snowy footprints in their wake. Trowa brought up the rear, keeping his eyes open on the areas behind them, should someone decide to try and sneak up on them. But there was no movement beyond except for the wind blowing snowdrifts around the abandoned buildings.

When they were close, Sally stopped their movement and waited. There were still a few people standing outside a set of doors. Two of them took a last drag on their cigarettes, flung the butts into the snow, and together, they turned and walked back into the building. Sally turned to look over her shoulder.

"Wufei, Heero - go look for another entrance to the building. We'll take those doors," Sally said. Wufei and Heero nodded together, then moved out of their group and headed down a narrow space between two buildings, in order to circle around to the back.

Sally, Watts, and Trowa moved forward until they reached the end of their available cover. Trowa glanced around the side of the building and saw Heero and Wufei make their run across the street towards the building. "Let's go," Sally said, and three took off at as much of a sprint as they could manage in the snow covered street. Stumbling, they slid into a crouching position at the side of their target.

Trowa moved slowly through the snow until he reached a window. Pushing himself up, he moved until he could just see inside the window. He lowered back down.

"There's definitely a hive of them in there," Trowa said. "A bunch of them are all working around a table." Sally nodded, then motioned to keep moving. She froze a second later, when Wufei's voice came over the communicator.

"_There's no good way to get in back there. The only entrance is blocked by a couple of guards, though we can't tell if they're armed or not…"_

"Don't shoot them," Sally said. "Come back to the front. We'll just go in that way."

"_Roger."_

Sally whipped out a small device from her pocket and pressed a button. A moment later, she was speaking into it, though Trowa couldn't hear the other side of the conversation.

"We're going to need back up…. yes…. GPS coordinates…"

Watts glanced over her shoulder at Trowa. He recognized the look in her eyes: the thrill of excitement, of heading into a battle, to fight. Yes, he knew it all too well, because he'd seen it in the eyes of his comrades, and even in his own eyes when the Zero system reflected it back to him. He nodded once to her, a silent acknowledgement of their bond in this situation. She turned back to Sally.

A moment later, Heero and Wufei came around the corner, crouched low to the ground. Trowa's eyes lingered on Heero for a moment, and he saw Heero's pain in the grit of his teeth. He should have stayed back at the headquarters, but there was no way anyone was going to convince him of that. Trowa felt worried for him.

But there was nothing he could do at this point. Sally called them forward, and they followed. They approached the door and rose up. Adjusting her weapon, she nodded at the others to follow suit. After taking a heavy breath, Sally ripped open the doors.

* * *

_Heero_

In an instant, there were about thirty pairs of eyes focused on the small group of Preventers. Sally stepped into the warehouse, her shoulders held back and chin high and said,

"Halt all operations, by order of the Preventers!"

Her voice echoed in the vast space, at least until it was drown out by shouts of the rebels gathered inside. Those with weapons raised them up against the Preventers. Heero pressed the butt of his rifle into the crook of his shoulder and raised it, looking through the sites at the nearest rebel with a gun aimed at Sally. Beside him, the others did the same.

"We don't recognize the authority of the Preventers!" one of the rebels shouted.

Heero didn't know who fired the first shot, but the rapport rang out, and the _tang_ of metal against metal sounded, meaning the bullet had missed it's mark. But Sally and the others didn't falter. They began firing their weapons, but Heero didn't know if they were aiming to wound or kill.

Trowa, Wufei, and Sally were fanning out, pushing back the rebels away from them, and gradually, the sounds of many guns began to diminish as the unprepared rebels ran out of bullets in their handguns. Heero only watched, a hopeless feeling crawling around his heart and gripping it tight.

To Heero's right, a group of rebels emerged from another room, these ones carrying high powered rifles, and they were wildly spraying bullets around the room. A few of their own comrades went down in shouts of pain. Heero turned, aiming his gun at the knees to try and avoid killing the rebels, but when his finger wrapped around the trigger, he couldn't pull it.

_What's wrong with me?_

They were getting closer. Agent Watts wasn't seeing these rebels approaching; she was focused on another group in front of them, the ones that had been leaning over a table working on something when they entered.

_Just shoot them!_

Heero's laser focus was gone. He'd always managed a sort of tunnel vision during a battle, where he knew what to do, and where to shoot, and who to kill. But now, fear gripped him, forcing him back against the wall behind him, unable to fire.

One of the rebels fired, aiming at Watts.

"No!" Heero heard himself cry, but it was too late. The bullet ripped through Watt's right arm, and she went down, falling to her knees, the rifle falling heavy at her feet. Heero lifted the barrel of his gun back up, but his muscles remained frozen. He watched as Watts ditched her rifle and pulled a large pistol from a holster on her thigh, and instead began to squeeze off rounds with that. She kept on fighting through the blood running freely down her bicep and onto the concrete floor. In just a few seconds, she had pushed back the new group, forcing them down to their knees.

"Yuy!" He heard Sally call to him. He turned, but she said nothing more, having run of out ammunition. She dropped her rifle and switched to a pair of pistols. A large commotion caught Heero's attention. Outside, several armored vehicles painted brown had rolled up in front of the warehouse. It was the Preventer reinforcements. Heero dropped back, his eyes still wide, his mind shutting down. Out of the vehicles spilled dozens of Preventers, who ran through the open doors and circled around, gathering the rebels into the center of the room. The rebels knew they were outnumbered now, and they dropped their weapons.

Wufei pulled out a canvas bag that had been rolled up and stored in one of his pockets. Rushing to the table in the middle of the room, he began scooping everything that was there into the bag. The rebels shouted at him, but he ignored them. Trowa and Watts began to pick up computer equipment while the other Preventers clapped handcuffs on the rebels.

Among the activity, Heero caught Sally's eye. He wished he could read the look there, but she looked away before he could figure it out.

Heero watched Watts carrying equipment, despite the wound in her arm. Heero shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts pervading his mind. He pushed himself up, turned the safety back on his rifle and twisted it around to rest against his back. He jogged to Watts' side and took the equipment from her, but he couldn't meet her eye. She thanked him and moved on to continue to clear out the place.

* * *

-SE


	29. Chapter 28

Deprogramming  
Chapter 28

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

Mars walked away from Duo, leaving him standing alone once again in the large warehouse. When no one approached him, Duo wandered off, heading towards a door. Once outside in the snow, he bummed a cigarette off a few guys and moved away on his own. He wasn't a smoker, but it provided decent cover for being outside alone. He stuck the thing between his lips and retrieved his communicator from an inner pocket of his coat. He stuck a small headphone into one ear and pressed the alert button and waited for someone to answer.

A male voice came through. "Smith."

"It's Maxwell," Duo said.

"What have you learned?" Smith asked. Duo opened his mouth to make a snarky comment about formalities, but he decided he didn't have time.

"They're planning on coming to the Preventer HQ tomorrow to take the President up on his offer to meet. They plan on using it as an intelligence gathering mission, to learn about the HQ, in order to make a full infiltration later," Duo said. "They're also going to rile up the protesters to use them as a distraction."

"Hm, I didn't expect them to make so bold a move," Smith said. "Alright, we'll begin planning our countermeasures for this. Keep me updated."

"Roger." Duo shut down his communicator and stowed it back in his pocket. He took a few minutes to finish off the cigarette before returning to the warehouse.

When he walked back through the doors, the room was in an upheaval. Mars was barking orders at people, and they were scrambling to do his bidding. Duo crossed his arms over his chest and walked to Mars' side.

"What's going on?" he asked. Mars threw a glare down at him.

"The Preventers found our research warehouse," he growled. Duo lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't sure that his friends would have found anything at those other sites. At least that was a win for the good guys.

"Sir!" A rebel skidded to a halt in front of Mars. He had a phone in his hand. "Some of our men got away, but they said the Preventers are taking everything."

"Of course," Mars grumbled.

"What should we do?" the rebel asked.

"Nothing right now." The rebel looked surprised, but a glare from Mars shut him down. "They'll be expecting an immediate retaliation. We'll just have to cut our losses. We can always retrieve the chip information and attempt to build another one."

Duo tried to cover his flinch. They _were _trying to build another chip. But the Preventers stopped them this time. Duo's mind conjured up an image of what Relena must have looked like while smashing the hell out of the previous chip, and he smiled to himself. If he could hack their system and delete all their information about the chip, they'd never be able to replicate the chip ever again. And the sooner all that information was destroyed, the better. Though Duo had to admit to the slight pang in his chest - the chip was like a last link to the Gundams, and before long, everything about those years would be erased from history.

But it was for the better, and Duo knew this, even if he did miss Deathscythe.

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

When the team returned to the Preventer HQ, Commander Smith, Dorothy, and Relena were waiting for them near the locker rooms. Trowa followed behind Heero and the others, after having promised Watts he'd see her in the medical facility once he'd changed.

Trowa watched Relena's face crumple when she reached out to Heero, only to have him brush her off and disappear into the locker room. Her eyes met his, and he shook his head.

"Trowa…?" Relena breathed. He slowed his walk and stopped at her side.

"If he doesn't tell you himself, I will," Trowa said. Relena's eyes shone, and he could tell she was holding back tears.

"Because of the chip?"

"I believe so." A rush of air left Relena, and she turned away, her hands moving to cover her face. Dorothy patted Trowa on the shoulder.

"Make sure that information doesn't get spread around, alright?" she whispered to him.

"Sure."

Dorothy turned away and returned to Relena's side, lifting a comforting arm over the other woman's shoulders. "Come on, Miss Relena," Dorothy said, and pulled Relena away towards the elevator.

Trowa watched them leave and joined the others in the locker room. Sally and Wufei were silent. Heero had already disappeared, but Trowa heard the shower running. He looked at the others.

"Don't say anything," he said to them. He heard Wufei scoff, but Sally punched him in the arm.

"This isn't a joke," she said to Wufei, her eyes dark.

"I'm all too aware of that. But we can't make special allowances for Preventer agents who can't fire their weapons."

Trowa closed his eyes against Wufei's words. Of course they were all thinking the same thing, but hearing the words out loud made it all much worse. Trowa couldn't remember a time when Heero had frozen up in battle. He had always reacted in some way or another, even if it was to self-detonate in order to protect the Gundams.

"Une will have to know," Wufei added.

"Heero will get his chance to explain himself to his commander, as we all do when mistakes are made. I'm sure you remember the process well, Agent Chang," Sally said, glaring at him. It was the first time Trowa noticed that Sally still maintained several inches of height on Wufei. Not only that, but she was clearly pulling rank on him. Wufei's mouth snapped closed and he looked away from her.

"Of course, Major Sally," Wufei mumbled.

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Heero _

He was numb. Even the scalding water of the shower couldn't erase the feeling of weakness that continued to crawl over his skin and into his mind. All of the previous failures he'd had in the past couldn't come close to the horror he felt now. An ally had been hurt. He'd been unable to help stop a fire from spreading, through his friends managed to deal with the situation just fine.

Heero pressed a hand to his face. He could hear their comments in his mind. They knew he was weak, now. It had been proven beyond a doubt that without the chip altering his mind, Heero was weak.

What would Relena think when she found out?

Sally had informed Heero after he'd gotten out of the shower that a meeting was scheduled at five o'clock to discuss information sent in from Duo and to plan a strategy. Heero still had time to try and make up for his failure in one way.

He took the elevator down to the medical facility. Looking through the rooms as he walked, finally came to the one where Agent Watts was being stitched up. He watched while the doctor sealed the wound closed, dabbed antiseptic on it, and wrapped her arm in a bandage to keep the area clean. The doctor said something to her and excused himself.

"Agent Yuy?" Watts called from her place on the examination table. Heero bowed his head and stepped into the room. "Are you alright?" She hopped off the examination table.

"I'm fine," Heero mumbled, trying to come up with a way to apologize to this woman. His mind worked slowly while Agent Watts waited patiently for him to speak. "It's my fault you were shot," Heero finally managed to say.

Watts gave him a skeptical look. "Nonsense," she said. "_You_ didn't shoot me."

"I failed in the mission to stop the rebels. I saw them coming, and I didn't stop them," Heero said. Watts blinked, her face betraying her confused thoughts as to why Heero was apologizing to her.

"Agent Yuy, I don't know you well yet. I only know of the legends that precede you of your time as a Gundam pilot. So I don't feel it's useful for me to try and console you, as you do not know me either. But as one soldier and Preventer to another, I insist that you believe me when I say I harbor no ill feelings towards you. I have known of the potential dangers of this career when I joined, and this is just one of those dangers, and thankfully, one where I came out alive." She paused a moment, staring at him. "Perhaps you should talk to Miss Relena."

Heero let her words sink in, acknowledging that everything she said was true, even if a large part of his mind continued to rebel, telling him that he was a failure. He decided to leave it as it was. Heero held out his hand to her, and she gripped it back.

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

The "War Room" filled slowly with the required participants. Relena was already seated at the large conference wable, with Dorothy beside her. Relena was grateful the other woman had come along to New York with her, as she'd been an essential pillar of strength to Relena though the whole ordeal, though Relena knew Dorothy would deny it.

Commander Smith, Sally, and Wufei were already in the room as well, seated at the table. Commander Smith had a stack of papers in front of him that he was sorting into three different piles. The door to the room opened, and Agent Watts walked in. She wore a tank top, which exposed the recently bandaged wound on her arm. Relena blinked.

"Are you alright, Miss Watts?" Relena asked, pushing herself up from her table in concern. Watts flashed Relena a smile.

"Oh, I'm fine, Miss Relena," she replied. "I've had worse." Unabashedly, Watts pulled up a corner of her tank top and pulled down the waistband of her cargo pants to reveal a nasty looking scar near her hip bone. "Got shot during my third mission with the Preventers. Shattered my hip bone. It's mostly metal now," she said with a grin, knocking on the area with a fist. Relena laughed, unable to help herself. At the head of the table, Commander Smith chuckled.

"She was promoted after that mission. She kept on with her task even with a bullet in her hip."

Watts took a mock bow and sat down at the table. Relena felt a great admiration for the young woman. Dorothy leaned into Relena's shoulder and whispered, "I'd want her for a bodyguard if life every got hairy again."

"You might have to fight me for her," Relena whispered back, causing Dorothy to laugh.

A few Preventer officers that Relena didn't know entered the room and joined the gathered group at the table. Finally, after a few minutes of idle chatter, Heero entered the room.

Relena's eyes snapped to him immediately, searching his face for answers. She hadn't seen him again since he'd arrived back with the others, and she was desperate to talk to him. But his face was closed off. He said nothing as he took up a place against the wall, and he wouldn't look at her. Dorothy threw a questioning look at Relena, but she could only shrug.

_Don't shut me out again, Heero._

"Thank you all for coming," Commander Smith said, pulling Relena's attention back to the issue at hand. "We have several items to discuss." He began to pass around the stacks of papers, and each person took one from each pile. "First, we have to discuss the raid that was successfully performed on a warehouse occupied by the rebels. Second, we have new intelligence from Agent Maxwell in the field. Third, we will need to create a plan of action for tomorrow, which you will understand more of after we get through the first item."

Commander Smith sat back down and laced his fingers together. Sally cleared her throat and began to run through the events that happened earlier that day. Relena listened closely, trying to pick out at what point something went wrong, but other than Agent Watts sustaining a bullet wound on her arm, everything seemed to go as smoothly as one could expect. Heero's name was only mentioned as having been there. As Sally neared the end of her story, Relena glanced back at Heero, who was still leaning up against the wall, his eyes closed. Her stomach clenched in worry.

"Thank you, Sally," Commander Smith said when Sally indicated that she was through. "Our tech team is already searching their hard drives for useful information, and a few of the captives are being held for questioning. As Sally mentioned, it's apparent that they were attempting to replicate the chip, which means they did get their hands on the information that had been previously extracted by Maxwell, prior to his kidnapping."

Under the table, Relena clenched her hands into fists. Another chip was the _last_ thing that society needed. Another human should not be subject to that kind of treatment ever again. Sensing her frustration, Dorothy patted Relena's arm.

"Don't worry," she whispered. Relena tried to nod, but her insides were still burning with fury.

"As for tomorrow, we will be expecting a visit from the rebels, and supposedly, their leader: a fellow named Mars," Commander Smith went on. "We will develop a plan of action for the supposed plan of theirs, as well as a plan for if something goes wrong."

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Heero_

Though Heero knew that it was well after midnight in Brussels, he called Colonel Une. Luckily for him, she was still in her office, and she answered. On the screen, he could see the regular signs of exhaustion on her face: the purple circles, the pale skin, the hooded eyes. She and her team had been working tirelessly in the background, attempting to locate and eliminate all other fires related to the rebels in the Americas.

"Heero," Une said, wiping a hand down her face. "I suppose I know why you're calling."

"Sally?" Une nodded. "Right."

"To be honest, I'm not too pleased with what happened. Granted, I don't know enough about this chip and its effects to really understand, but I'm still shocked that you froze up."

"I don't know what happened."

"This Agent Leigh Watts - is she alright?" Une asked, peeking down at a piece of paper that was outside the range of the camera.

"It was a graze. She's fine," Heero said, doing his best to keep a defensive tone out of his voice. It didn't matter that she'd be fine. She still had gotten injured.

"I'm tempted to pull you from this mission," Une said. "I don't blame you for all you've been through so far since this mission began, but I'm having trouble justifying your presence there. Sally said your gun shot wound is still bothering you. I should have pulled you then so you could heal properly."

"I don't blame you," Heero replied, hanging his head slightly. "But you should know that I'm not ready to give up."

"I didn't assume you would be. Stay for now, but if something else happens, I'm bringing you back."

Heero nodded. "Understood."

* * *

-SE


	30. Chapter 29

Deprogramming  
Chapter 29

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: A few things:  
1) At some point, I screwed up the year on the little section headers. I went back and changed them all, so they should be right. It's A.C. 201, not 207 or 208. Lol.  
2) This chapter pretty much begins a "Relena is a fucking badass" trend. Enjoy.

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

Trowa thought that he'd be ready to crash once he'd made it back to his bed, but it seemed the excitement of the day had put him on too much of an adrenaline rush. After attempting to sleep for a while, he gave up and headed to the gym in the lower levels of the Preventer HQ to work off some of his excess energy.

He took up a place on one of the treadmills and began a light jog, which allowed his mind to wander and assess the events of the day. Though he didn't want to remember it, the memory of seeing Heero freeze up continued to replay in his mind, forcing Trowa to struggle with ideas that he wanted nothing to do with. A small part of his brain clung to the idea that he would be better suited for Relena, which was something he'd made a decision to forget about. But this new development was making the idea seem more and more valid.

"Stop it, Trowa," he scolded himself.

But what could it mean for the rest of them? If Heero was being controlled by the chip to do all the extreme things he'd done during the wars, did that mean the rest of them were just awful people? They had killed and destroyed with nothing guiding them except their mission. A heavy weight dropped into Trowa's heart.

His opinion of himself and the other pilots was sinking lower and lower with each mile Trowa ran. When he was ready to call it quits and head back to his room, a voice beside him pulled him from his dark thoughts.

"Why do you look so forlorn?"

It was Agent Watts. Trowa hit the stop button the treadmill and allowed it to slow, then stop, before he turned to speak to her.

"Just realizing some horrible things about myself and the other pilots," Trowa uttered. Leigh rose an eyebrow and stared at him.

"What kind of horrible things?"

Trowa stepped off the treadmill and wiped his face with a towel. Leigh waited patiently. "I was just thinking - that if Heero had been under the control of the chip during the wars, and the rest of us were not, that we must just be awful people. Collectively, we killed a lot of people."

Trowa couldn't decipher the look on Leigh's face, except that she did look a little thoughtful.

"I don't think there's much I can say to make you feel better," Leigh said after a moment. "I suppose it just matters whether you enjoyed killing or not." She ended her sentence with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I never enjoyed killing," Trowa said.

"Then you must not be a terrible person."

"It can't be that cut and dry," Trowa argued.

"Of course it's not," Leigh said. "But what are you going to do? Let yourself waste away while you feel guilty over everything you ever did? That's no way to live." Trowa wanted to keep arguing with her, but he wasn't sure she'd understand. "I've met four of the five Gundam pilots now, and you all do the same thing." Trowa looked up and met her gaze.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You all act like you must carry the weight of the world on your shoulders." She smiled and shook her head. "Let it go. Let the rest of us carry some of that weight. You saved us all, the Earth and the Colonies. All humans owe _you _a favor now."

"I don't think everyone sees it that way," Trowa replied.

"They should." Leigh rested a hand on his shoulder. "I promise that at the very least, all Preventer agents will take the burden from your shoulders, and carry it ourselves. That's what they taught us in training - we're following in the footstep of the Gundam Pilots and Miss Relena. We will protect the Earth and Colonies."

Trowa was surprised. He knew that the training regime came down from Une herself. Perhaps it was a form of penance, like her promise to keep Relena safe as well, to make up for the things she did during the war. Une was creating a generation of people to carry the weight, as Leigh had said.

Finally, he smiled.

* * *

_December 28, A.C. 201_

_10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

Relena remained with Commander Smith, Sally, Dorothy, and a few other Preventers, while they hashed out their plan for the following day. Smith promised that he'd brief the rest of the team in the morning - that they needed to rest.

But Relena wasn't about to let one person in particular rest. She refused to sleep herself until she talked to Heero. He'd asked for her help to deal with the transition from having the chip to being a normal human, and Relena believed this was the very thing he needed help with. Never again would Heero go through something, only to shut down and shut her out. She was much too stubborn for that.

She found out where Heero's room was located and resolutely made her way there.

The first time she knocked, Heero didn't answer the door. She tapped her foot, her hands planted on her hips while she waited. Finally, she pounded on the door again and said, "Heero Yuy, open this door now or so help me, I will find a way to force it open."

Heero opened the door. He looked weary and upset, and Relena reminded herself that this was why he needed her. Relena forced her way inside and closed the door behind her. Heero dropped onto the stiff, mass produced couch.

"Talk to me." Relena dropped her bag down and sat beside him, circling his shoulders with her arm.

"I messed up," Heero said after a lengthy silence. "I couldn't fire my weapon. Agent Watts got injured because of me."

"Heero…"

"I'm a disgrace."

"You are hardly a disgrace."

"Une wanted to pull me from the mission."

"You are still injured."

"I fu-"

"Stop." Relena removed her arm from his shoulders and rose to her feet. She moved to stand in front of him and planted her hands on her hips. "I can't tolerate this behavior from you. I know that you tend to get self-destructive when you believe that you messed up, but that's ridiculous. Agent Leigh is fine. The mission was completed. You couldn't fire your gun because you were afraid, and you know, that's perfectly okay."

"Huh? How did you-"

"Knowing you as I do, I'd be more worried about you having an easier time shooting people with the chip helping you. You're more human now, Heero. You're experiencing the fear and hesitation that regular humans feel. And that's _normal_."

"But-"

"I'm not finished. Think about it, Heero. If everything you told me is true, then Dr. J put that chip in your to _suppress_ your humanity. You were too human for them. You felt emotions, like remorse, sadness, and guilt, over the mistakes you made, and it didn't work for them. So they changed you to fit what they want. They wanted to take away your emotions.

"I know you're feeling bad now, but this is normal, and I believe it's part of the process you must go through to heal, and become the person you were destined to be, before they trained you to be a killer." Relena narrowed her eyes. "Feeling sorry for yourself is only useful if you use it to push yourself to change and improve."

Heero stared at Relena, his mouth hanging open. She met his gaze, unwavering, though she didn't really expect him to say anything. She just wanted to get through to him, and show him that what happened during the mission wasn't as horrible as he seemed to think.

In the time it took for Relena to blink, Heero was up on his feet, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her to his chest. His forehead dropped to her shoulder, his nose turned and pressed against her neck. Relena returned the force of his hug and tried to give him as much of her comforting energy as possible.

"I promised I'd help you," Relena added, not that it was necessary. She was sure that Heero knew that, but sometimes, people needed a reminder of someone else's devotion to another. Heero squeezed her tighter.

"I'll repay you someday," he murmured. Relena shook her head.

"You did your part," she said. "You saved me more times than I can remember, and you set up the playing field for peace, which allowed me to take over the task. When this ordeal is over, we'll go back home, and you'll begin a life."

Heero nodded against her shoulder. Relena lifted her hands to his head and ran her fingers through his hair. Heero lifted up from her shoulder and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I still feel weak," he confessed, staring down into her eyes. Relena smiled and pressed her hands to either side of his face.

"It's okay. Because I am strong."

She pressed her lips to his and attempted to close the gap between their bodies. It was an unfamiliar feeling that forced her to pull back, her eyes searching his. It had been a tear - but not one of her's. The trail of the tear shone on Heero's cheek. Relena released a slow breath and reached up, wiping it from his cheek with her thumb. Something bloomed inside of her, and she knew, unequivocally, that things would be different from now on.

* * *

-SE


	31. Chapter 30

Deprogramming  
Chapter 30

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 29, A.C. 201_

_8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

He wasn't sure how or when, but someone must have left the warehouse, found a nearby bakery, and returned with donuts, bagels, and coffee. Without being caught as a rebel. The gesture was so oddly normal to have happened on the morning of a rebel attempt at infiltrating the Preventer HQ and to get close to the President of the ESUN.

Of course, Duo wasn't going to complain. He would gladly stuff his face with donuts and coffee. Which is what he did while Mars went over the plan once again. Duo made himself appear nonchalant while he ate, when really he was listening closely so he could take the information back to the Preventers.

"Roberts spread the word last night, informing the protestors that there would be a large scale protest today, starting in the morning. The idea is to draw as much media, Preventer, and government attention as possible to that area. It will keep the Preventers distracted, while at the same time, myself and a few others will be moving inside the HQ to chat with the President," Mars said, his voice booming throughout the warehouse. "While we're inside, my team will break off and search the building, under the guise of receiving a tour."

Duo muffled a snort into his coffee. He'd never officially joined the Preventer organization, but he was fairly certain that they wouldn't just offer a tour to a bunch of rebel scum.

"After gathering as much information as possible, we'll take our leave, and hopefully at that point, I will have come to some sort of satisfying conclusion with the President. Naturally, we don't care what he has to say. It changes nothing."

Duo munched on another donut. He felt as if the plan was overly complicated, just to find out the layout of the Preventer building and pretend to talk to the President of the ESUN. He knew that the rebels weren't the most intelligent people, who were also severely lacking in discipline and handgun skills, but even so - Duo didn't think Mars was that stupid. Something wasn't sitting right with him, but he knew he couldn't find out without looking very suspicious. He squashed the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. There wasn't anything to be done expect go along with the plan.

Mars dismissed the group, informing everyone that the transportation would be arriving soon. Duo refilled his coffee and stepped outside. It was a little warmer than it had been the previous day. Personally, Duo wouldn't bother protesting something in the middle of winter. There wasn't much he cared about enough to want to stand in the snow and wind and yell about. He'd much rather be cuddled under a pile of blankets with Hilde…

Duo shook his head. He couldn't get distracted. Pulling the communicator from his pocket, he stuck the little bud in his ear and turned it on and waited. Finally, Smith answered.

"Maxwell?"

"Hey sir. Just wanted to pass along the information from this morning," Duo said. He quickly recited the important parts of Mars' speech, going slow enough for Smith to record everything. Once he was finished, he said, "I have a favor to ask."

"Sure."

"Will you get a message over to Hilde Schbeiker at the Brussels Preventer HQ? Tell her I love her and that I'm okay," Duo said. There was a brief pause, then Smith said,

"Sure thing, lover boy."

Before long, three large trucks arrived outside the warehouse. Mars took his group in the first truck while the rest of the rebels climbed into the other two trucks. Duo climbed into the passenger seat of the second truck, much to the chargin of the driver.

"Who said you could sit up here?" he asked. Duo threw a glance at him, accompanied by a large grin.

"No one, of course!" he said. The driver stared at him, but said nothing more and turned to look back out the windshield, effectively ignoring Duo, who didn't care. He had his own thoughts to contend with on the ride over to the Preventer HQ.

The drive took a little less than an hour. Duo hoped that his friends were ready.

The trucks stopped along the side of the main road that ran along the front of the Preventer HQ. There was already a huge group of protestors outside the building, waving signs and shouting. Several media vans were parked along the road further down, their camera crews and vulture-like reporters convening on the outer edge of the chaos. Duo frowned. There were too many people. Crowd control, should anything go wrong, was going to be difficult.

The rebels hopped out of the trucks. Mars took his group up to the the sidewalk that ran past the front entrance of the Preventer building, while the second group began to immerse themselves within the protestors. Duo followed suit, since he wasn't sure what else he could do at the moment to help his friends. He continued to send hopefully thoughts their way.

From his position, he was able to see Mars enter into the building. The twisting uncertainty in his stomach got worse, but he tried to ignore it.

For a long time, nothing happened. The protesters continued to protest, the media occasionally asking people for statements. Duo hung to the side, watching.

Before he realized what was happening, a blast of hot air flew past him, followed by the roar of an explosion. The crowd around him erupted into screams. Duo stumbled, but remained on his feet, looking around. A part of the Preventer building was on fire.

"What the?!" he shouted. _This wasn't part of the plan!_

Someone was standing beside him. Duo turned to see one of the other rebels. The other man grinned at Duo. "Sorry about this, _traitor_."

The man brought the butt of his assault rifle down on Duo's head, and darkness consumed him.

* * *

_December 29, A.C. 201_

_10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

The atmosphere in the Preventer HQ was tense. Very tense. Currently, Trowa was standing outside of the conference room where the President was meeting with the rebel leader, Mars. It was a difficult decision, but it was eventually decided that only Commander Smith, Wufei, and Sally would be in the room with the President and Mars. However, there were many other Preventers watching on the closed-circuit cameras, should anything should go awry. Relena and Dorothy had protested, wanting to be in on the meeting, but many others turned down their request. Instead, Relena and Dorothy were down the hall in a secure room, also watching the meeting on the cameras.

The rest of their group was disbursed to spread out skills. Heero was with a group of Preventers who were watching over the small group of rebels that Mars had brought with him. They'd been surprised that Duo wasn't among them, at least until Agent Watts reported that she saw Duo out in the crowd of rebels and protesters. Agent Watts, who Trowa learned was proficient with a sniper rifle, was one of several who were up on a top level of the building, watching the protesters.

With a sigh, Trowa checked his watch. How long could a meeting with a rebel leader possibly last?

Through his communicator, he heard everyone check in. "So far so good up here at the conference room," Trowa said.

"I've got some activity on the east side of the building," Preventer Agent Jefferies said. "Suspicious vehicle."

"Any markings?"

"No." Trowa, and the others, he assumed, waiting anxiously for more information.

"The crowd out front is getting restless," Watts reported.

"Shit, they're rebels! I think its-"

The Preventer agent was cut off when an explosion rocked the foundation of the building. Trowa cried out and lost his balance when the wave coursed through the building. "Shit, shit, shit!" Trowa pushed himself back up. On the other side of the door, he heard shouts and screams.

Another explosion went off, shaking the building.

"Report in!" someone shouted over the communicator.

"Watts!"

"Barton!"

"Yuy!"

"Mitchell!"

"Frank!"

The last person, Agent Jeffries, didn't report in. Trowa's stomach sank.

* * *

Mars stood at the front of the room, a handgun in each hand, and a wicked smile on his face. He had managed to sneak two plastic guns into the building, which had been hidden on his person when he went through security. And now they were aimed at the President. Commander Smith pushed himself up from his chair, his own gun in his hand. Wufei and Sally had already jumped to their feet, their own guns trained on Mars' head.

"What have you done?" Smith asked, recovering from the explosion. Mars laughed and shifted his aim, squeezing off a round. The bullet hit Smith in the stomach. He cried out and fell, trying to press his hands to the wound. Wufei and Sally tightened their grips on their own guns.

Smith's anguished cries continued from his place on the floor where he'd sunk.

"You really thought we only came here to talk?" Mars asked. No one moved. "After I kill the president," Mars said, aiming a gun at the President, who was cowering, "I'll kill you, Relena Peacecraft." He lifted his gaze up to one of the cameras in the room, miming pulling the trigger.

The door to the room burst open and Trowa appeared, followed by several more Preventer agents. They were aiming for Mars, to take him down with guns, but Mars lunged and rammed Trowa and the others with his broad shoulders, knocking them to the ground. He jumped over their bodies and disappeared from the room, his laugh echoing through the hallway.

"Trowa, go after him!" Sally shouted, discarding her Preventer jacket. Trowa nodded and turned to run out the door with his other Preventer agents. Sally pressed her jacket to Commander Smith's gunshot wound.

"Just leave me here for now. Get the President to safety," Smith said, struggling through the pain.

"Yes sir," Sally replied. She rose and wiped her hands on her pants, leaving smeared handprints of blood on them. Gesturing to Wufei, the two of them gripped the upper arms of the President and herded him from the room.

* * *

Relena and Dorothy watched the chaos on the screen. As Wufei and Sally moved out of view of the cameras, another explosion rocked the building. Dorothy flung herself at Relena, pulling her to the floor and under the conference table, to protect from the falling ceiling tiles and debris. This explosion felt like it was closer than the previous.

"What is happening?" Relena cried out.

"I can only imagine that it's something horrible," Dorothy replied.

At the door to the room, they heard the sounds of the locking mechanism shifting, allowing the door to slide open. Relena and Dorothy crawled out from under the table.

"You three stay in here!" Sally cried as she nearly flung the President into the room. He was already looking unkempt and harassed. Dorothy nodded and motioned for the President to sit in a chair.

"What's going on out there?" Dorothy asked.

"Mars escaped and the rebels are trying to blow up the building," Wufei grunted. Without waiting for follow-up questions, the two turned and left the room, allowing it to close behind them.

Relena glanced at Dorothy. "I hope you know that I won't just sit here," she said.

Dorothy smirked. "Of course not, Miss Relena."

* * *

Heero and his group of Preventer agents were close enough to the first bomb that it knocked them all off their feet into a scattered pile of bodies on the floor. Heero recovered from the blast as quickly as possible, but by the time he made it to his feet, he realized that they were already surrounded.

The rebels who had come in with Mars had stolen their weapons and were surrounding the Preventers. Heero now stood in the room, his back to two other Preventer agents, their hands in the air. The rebels had their guns pointed at them.

_What do I do?_

Doubt and fear gripped Heero so hard, he could barely think. He hadn't had enough time to recover from his horrible mistake the previous day, and now he was effectively captured. It was further away this time, but another bomb went off, shaking the building and bringing down equipment, bits of drywall, and ceiling tiles.

Despite the chaos, Heero's communicator was still working. He heard Sally's voice. "Commander Smith has been shot, and Mars is on the run in the building. Status check!"

Heero wanted to answer, but he couldn't pull the attention of the rebels. One a few others checked in, including Trowa, who said he was also running after Mars.

Another Preventer began to speak, but he was cut off by a third explosion. Heero covered his head with his arms as more debris fell from the ceiling. Wires and pipes were beginning to come loose in the room. The rebels appeared to be enjoying themselves.

The Preventer never finished his update.

"Yuy! Check in!" Sally's voice ordered, but Heero didn't move.

* * *

After the third explosion, Relena and Dorothy agreed without speaking that it was time to get out of the building. The President was unharmed, but he was shaken up, and it took Dorothy's threats to get him on his feet.

"If you don't move, sir, you'll be blown apart. Obviously this entire situation has gone wrong, and if we linger, we'll just end up dead anyway," Dorothy said, her face very close to the President's. Personally, Relena would have chosen a different method, but she wasn't about to argue.

Finally, the President nodded and rose to his feet. Together, the two women flanked him and opened the door to the hallway.

"We shouldn't even bother with the elevators. If another bomb goes off that affects the electricity, we'll be stuck," Dorothy said as the three edged into the hallway.

"Stairs it is," Relena agreed, leading the way towards the stairwell that would take them to the first floor.

Relena wished she had some way to communicate with the others. She needed to know what else was going on.

As they passed by the conference room where the meeting with Mars had been, Dorothy looked inside. "Oh! Commander Smith is in there!" the President cried out.

"What?!" the women cried at once. Relena and Dorothy rushed inside. Commander Smith was still lying on the floor, holding a Preventer jacket against his stomach.

"Sir, are you alright?" Relena asked, kneeling beside him. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Get out of here," he whispered. Relena shook her head.

"We're not leaving you here," she said.

"Do you think we can move him?" asked Dorothy. Relena, grim faced, replied,

"I don't know, but I'd rather find out than leave him here." With Dorothy's help, they managed to pull Commander Smith to his feet. Relena didn't know where this extra strength was coming from… perhaps the adrenaline of the situation.

Together, they managed to carry Commander Smith from the room with a little bit of help from him. The President followed behind, talking to himself rapidly in Dutch.

The stairwell was at the end of the hall, and at a glance, it appeared to be fine. As carefully as possible, Dorothy and Relena began their descent down the steps. It was slow going, but Relena was determined that they would all get out alive.

Her resolve lasted until the fourth bomb exploded.

* * *

-SE


	32. Chapter 31

Deprogramming  
Chapter 31

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: I was hoping to have more of this done but the words were eluding me. I will try to have more for you soon.

* * *

_December 29, A.C. 201_

_11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

Though Trowa and his group of Preventers had the quickest start after Mars, the bombs caused them to lose sight of the maniac. Trowa and his group split up to try and find him, searching each floor and every room.

On the second floor, Trowa stumbled upon a hole blown in the wall from one of the bombs. Carpet and chairs were burning, light fixtures dangled from the ceiling, and parts of the walls and ceilings were crumbling. From the hallway where he stood, he could see through the walls of offices and straight to the outside. He stared at the wreckage for a moment, wondering if perhaps Mars had escaped out through one of the bomb locations.

His musing was interrupted when a group of six rebels burst through the hole in the wall and scrambled over the wreckage, pushing chairs and desks out of their way as they moved through the former offices. Trowa raised his rifle to his shoulder.

"Look! Preventer scum!" one of them laughed, pointing at Trowa. Each one had their own rifle. Trowa was very outnumbered. _Nothing I didn't have to deal with before,_ he reminded himself.

The rebels surrounded him, aiming their weapons at his head. Trowa remained still, holding his own rifle aimed at one of the rebels. He contemplated his next move when another group of rebels climbed in through the hole in the wall, and just like that, Trowa was doubly outnumbered.

"Mars said to take out as many as possible!" a rebel shouted. Trowa took a deep breath -

and jumped.

His sudden movement caught the rebels off guard, and they looked around confused for a moment while Trowa flipped himself over and landed on the outside of the ring they'd formed around him. He fired his rifle at the group of rebels when he landed on the ground, and they scrambled. A few began to return fire, which meant Trowa had to duck and roll out of the way to avoid being shot. Trowa knew he to escape if he wanted to get out of this alive, but his exits were blocked by rebels. He could only go deeper into the building, and that would only trap him.

Trowa fired back, taking down a few rebels, still trying to dodge the bullets they fired back. But it was becoming more and more difficult. Especially when he ran out of ammo.

"Hey assholes! Over here!"

Trowa frowned when the rebels all turned towards the sound of the voice. Out of the shadows walked Agent Watts, her rifle slung over her back and two pistols in her hands. She caught Trowa's gaze for a moment before grinning like a madwoman. Trowa's eyes widened.

With a quickness he hadn't expected, Watts began to take out the rebels with just her pistols. They'd been surprised by her appearance, and it was enough for her to gain the upper hand.

"Barton!" she shouted, and tossed him a full magazine from her own stash. He caught it, ejected his empty one and slammed the full one into place. The rebels had begun to back up, their own ammunition running out. Trowa fired, not aiming to kill, but to at least back them up, though inevitably, some were getting hurt. Between the two of them, they finally broke the rebels, who turned and ran back through the hole in the building, shouting at the fallen to drag themselves outside. When the chaos ended, Trowa moved his rifle back around to his back and wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his coat. Watts approached him, grinning.

"Good thing I came to your rescue," she said with a smirk. Trowa snorted.

"I would have been fine," he said. Watts rolled her eyes.

"Come on. We still have to find Mars." She turned and headed back down the hall from the direction she came from, leading Trowa to a door that was ajar beside the elevator bank.

"What's this?" Trowa asked.

"The stairs are surrounded on some of the floors, and destroyed on others. This is the elevator repair access door," she said, pulling the door open. Inside was a shaft that ran along the elevator shaft, with a ladder on the wall leading all the way up, and all the way down. "Shall we?" Trowa nodded, and together, they climbed into the shaft and moved down the ladder towards the first floor.

* * *

It seemed that the rebels were not expecting the fourth explosion, or at least, not the timing of it. The vibrations from the explosion knocked the rebels, Heero, and the Preventers off their feet into a heap on the floor. This time, Heero was the first to jump to his feet. He grabbed the nearest weapon and yelled to the others.

"Get up!"

The Preventers joined him, making sure to push the rebels down as they too tried to regain their footing. Heero lifted his rifle and aimed it at the pile of rebels on the floor. Even as he did so, he could feel his muscles freezing up.

_I still feel weak._

_It's okay. Because I am strong._

Something warm swelled in Heero's chest. In his mind, he could see Relena, her look of extreme determination, when her gaze took on that of steel.

_I can do this._

"Drop your weapons if you want to make it out of this alive," Heero said, glaring down at the rebels. The clatter of metal against the floor indicated the rebels wanted to stay alive. Heero turned to one of the Preventers. "Restrain them."

The agent nodded his head. "Sir." The agent pulled a handful of large zipties from his pocket and tossed some to his partners. In a moment, the hands of all the rebels were zip-tied behind them, and the agents herded the group out. Heero followed behind and pressed the button on his communicator in his ear.

"This is Yuy. We've removed the rebels from the basement. Status check?"

"Watts and Barton. We're on the first floor, pursuing Mars."

"Mitchell, here. I have a visual on a fifth bomb on the west side of the building."

"Mitchell, this is Frank. I'll be there. We'll take them out."

"This is Po. I do not advise you to take on that bomb alone."

"Sorry, Commander. You'll have to forgive us for disobeying your orders this time."

"Let them go, Sally." It was Wufei.

"Yuy." Trowa this time. "Miss Darlian, Miss Catalonia, and the President are still in the building."

"Roger."

Heero split off from the others, running up the steps to the upper levels of the building.

* * *

Relena opened her eyes, groaning. Beneath her, Commander Smith groaned in pain, his blood seeping onto the floor. Relena pushed herself up, having to also force up the ceiling tiles and other debris that had fallen on them during the fourth explosion. "Commander, are you alright?" Relena asked, her throat gravely from the dust particles she'd breathed in. She coughed in an attempt to clear her throat.

"I'm still alive," Smith said with sarcastic humor.

"Dorothy? Mr. President?" Relena called out, trying to shift away debris so she could pull Commander Smith back to his feet. She managed it, with effort, but his wound was bleeding freely once more. The Preventer jacket he'd been using before was saturated with blood. Relena ripped off her blazer and pressed the fabric into his stomach. Smith nodded his thanks and held the fine material tightly.

"We're okay," Dorothy answered. A few feet away, Relena saw more debris shifting, then a flash of Dorothy's long, blonde hair. Relena moved as carefully as possible towards Dorothy and the President, and helped shift away debris. Finally, Dorothy and the President were able to stand up. Relena returned to Commander Smith's side and looped his arm around her neck and shoulders, allowing him to brace some of his weight against her.

"We need to get out of here, before another bomb explodes," Relena said. The others agreed, and together, the four of them began to tread carefully around the destruction from the bombs. They were close to the stairs, and only had to make their way down a few floors until they could escape.

Relena just hoped they could make it unscathed.

* * *

Heero didn't so much climb the stairs as scale the stairs. They were mostly collapsed now, from the lower levels to the upper, and it required actual climbing to make it to the first floor of the building. Once he made it to the first floor, he looked around, hoping he'd see _someone_. But it was quiet.

The floors stairs leading up to the second floor had been decimated. A large hole was allowing the cold air and snow into the building. Heero glanced around, wondering where the other rebels were, and where Mars was hiding. As far as he knew, no one had found him yet.

"The stairs are gone!"

Heero glanced around when he heard voices shouting from above him. He took a few steps towards the remnants of the stairs and looked up. At the edge of the remaining floor above, he saw Relena leaning over the edge.

"Heero!" she called out, kneeling down and reaching towards him. Heero reached up, though the space was too wide to reach her.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked. She lifted an eyebrow.

"Trying to get out," she replied.

"Who else is up there with you?"

"Dorothy, the President, and Commander Smith, but he's injured." Heero thought for a moment.

"Have the President come down first. Then he and I can help bring the rest of you down," he called up to her. Relena nodded and disappeared from his view. After a moment, the president appeared over the edge of the stairwell. "Slide down feet first," Heero called up to him.

"If you say so," the President said. He sat down and pushed himself to the edge of the floor, then lowered himself slowly, until his tailbone left the floor and he dropped. Heero reached up and managed to catch him awkwardly before landing hard on the floor. The President picked himself up and brushed himself off.

"You next, Relena," Heero called up. Relena appeared and, as modestly as possible with her skirt, pushed herself over the edge and dropped down into the waiting arms of Heero. He caught her, and for just a moment, their eyes locked, and between them passed an understanding - that even though Heero had been struggling, he was on his way to mending, and that it was all because of her. Heero put her down and saw her smiling. "Dorothy! Help Commander Smith!" Heero said, then turned to Relena and the President. "We have to be careful with him."

Dorothy helped carry Commander Smith to the edge and lower him down. He was pale and shaking now, having lost too much blood. He would need medical attention as soon as possible. With Relena, Heero, and the President, they managed to grab hold of the Commander and slowly lower him down from the second floor, followed by Dorothy, who needed little assistance.

"You four need to get outside," Heero said to Relena, gesturing towards the hole in the building. "Call an ambulance."

"Yes, of course," Relena said. She and Dorothy lifted up the Commander, holding his arms around their shoulders and began to walk carefully around the chunks of brick, steel, and plaster that littered the ground where a wall had once been. Before they could get very far, their way was blocked by a group of rebels, all with their guns aimed at Relena and the President. This group looked as if they'd already been part of the action - their clothes were dirty and torn, and their faces were covered with dust and gunpowder residue. Heero was about to call out to them when Relena stepped forward, allowing Dorothy to handle Commander Smith.

"Drop your weapons, immediately," Relena called out. The rebels stared at her. "You don't want to kill us anyway. I'm sure your leader has insisted that the President and I must die, but I think that inside, you know it's a stupid idea."

Heero blinked, staring at her. Even Dorothy and the President were staring at her in awe.

"Killing us now just means you'll be accused and most likely convicted of murder, and of high profile people as well, and I highly doubt that your leader will protect you while you stand in front of a jury. He's only using you to try and stir up all this trouble. Your comrades who murdered Ambassador Mitchell Rogers are already identified and under arrest. You think Mars has come to help them?"

The rebels were lowering their guns. Relena took a few more steps forward, and Heero resisted calling out to her to stop.

"Put your weapons down. We can discuss whatever issues you're having. We built this world government to spread our resources efficiently around the world planet. We can't make everyone happy, but we can try."

She sealed the deal, and the rebels lowered their weapons completely. One of the rebels completely dropped his gun on the ground and stumbled forward, falling to his knees in front of Relena.

"Please forgive us, Queen Relena," he begged, holding his hands together in a prayer position. Relena smiled gently down at him and took his hand, raising him back up to his feet.

"Help us stop this, and you shall be," she said. The man nodded and turned to the others.

"Come on! Let's go!" The rebels took off into the crowd.

Heero and Dorothy approached Relena. "I thought you didn't like being acknowledged as Queen Relena," Dorothy said, sounding a bit smug.

"Normally, I do not. But if it helps these people change their minds for the better, then I'll play along," Relena answered. Dorothy chuckled and moved away, pulling her phone from her pocket to call an ambulance. Heero stopped Relena before she could walk away.

"You're amazing," he whispered to her. Relena smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"So are you."

Heero smiled briefly, then released his hold on her. "I'll see you soon," he said and returned to the building. Relena watched him go for a moment, then turned and went back to work.

* * *

-SE


	33. Chapter 32

Deprogramming  
Chapter 32

by Scarlet Eve

* * *

_December 29, A.C. 201_

_11:30 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

Duo groaned as he opened his eyes. The spot where he'd been hit throbbed painfully, dulling his vision slightly. His mind began to register what was happening, taking in the fact that he was lying in the snow on the ground, that the Preventer HQ was smoking and burning in several places, and around him, protesters and rebels were still causing a ruckus. With effort, Duo pushed himself up onto his feet and brushed the sloppy snow from his clothes.

His mind slowly reminded him that he'd been betrayed by the people he was betraying. Even Duo couldn't miss the irony in that. Either way, he was exposed, so now his job would be to help the Preventers regain control over the situation. He just hoped that was possible.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his communicator and attempted to make contact. Something must have happened with their system though, because all he could hear was static.

"Can anyone hear me?" he called out, but the only response was more static. He sighed and looked around. Without a weapon or communication with the others, he'd have to deal with this situation the Relena way.

Duo jogged over to the nearest group of protesters. "You really think that standing here cheering for the possible death of Preventers is the best way to get what you want?" Duo asked them, his hands planted on his hips. The protesters looked at him, confused. Duo pointed to the building.

"Seriously? How many people do you think have been killed or injured, because you disagree with a few things the government is doing?" he asked.

"Queen Relena told us that peace isn't just handed to us," one of the protesters said, stepping forward to challenge Duo, who shook his head and gestured to the chaos around them. He was about to argue when another voice cut in.

"You call this peace?" The group went silent, staring between Duo and the building that was still smoking from whatever flames were burning. "Duo! You're okay!" Duo turned and saw Relena walking towards him, the US Preventer Commander leaning heavily on her shoulder. Dorothy was on his other side, and they were followed by the ESUN president.

"Is that Queen Relena?" Duo heard the protesters whisper behind him.

"Princess! You're okay!" Duo called out, jogging towards her. He stepped up to Commander Smith and took the man onto his own shoulder to hold him up, allowing Relena and Dorothy a break from carrying him. The Commander groaned at the movement.

"The ambulance should be here soon. He needs immediate care," Dorothy said while she surveyed the scene in front of them. With a grimace, she turned back to Relena. "This is a mess." The protesters that Duo had yelled at jogged up to them and knelt down in the snow before Relena. Duo suppressed a laugh as Relena looked down at them, slightly mortified.

"Please, show us the right way," one of them said, looking up at her with pleading eyes. Duo watched as Relena took a deep breath, released it slowly, and gathered herself. Even though she was dirty and disheveled and obviously cold without a coat, she commanded the attention of the surrounding protesters, speaking to them as the group grew larger and larger around her.

An ambulance pulled up over the curb, it's lights flashing against the snow. Duo left Relena to help Dorothy with Commander Smith, who was looking worse and worse with each passing minute. The EMTs jogged across the snow.

"What happened to him?" one of them asked as Dorothy handed him over.

"He was shot in the stomach. We tried to stop the bleeding, but it didn't go well. We had to bring him from one of the upper floors all the way down here without the aid of an elevator," Dorothy explained. The EMTs glanced at each other with skeptical looks. Duo helped them carry Commander Smith over to the ambulance and onto a gurney. Once settled, Duo left them to tend to him.

Relena and Dorothy had growing groups around them while the two women preached peace and common sense. They denounced Mars and his foolish attempts to get attention by destroying other's lives. Duo smiled, his heart swelling with pride at how far Relena and Dorothy had come, and how much good they could do. He was glad he was on their side.

* * *

Heero was at a loss when it came to figuring out where the hell Mars went, so he began to scour the first floor of the building, checking every room and hallway. The entire floor was a mess, and Heero cringed at how much work it was going to be to attempt to fix the building. There were even still fires burning in some areas, but he finally heard the sirens in the distance, slowly approaching their location. He just hoped that the situation would be under control by the time they arrived.

Heero wasn't very optimistic about that.

He was about to try and dig his way to the stairwell that led to the basement when he heard a door bang open near the elevators. Raising his rifle against his shoulder, he crouched and waited. But it wasn't a group of rebels, it was Trowa and Agent Watts. Heero lowered his gun and called out,

"Have you seen Mars?" They shook their heads.

"We just got done climbing down from the sixth floor," Trowa said. Heero glanced towards where they'd come from, and saw a door open next to the elevator. Heero shrugged.

"He's not on this floor, so I think we proceed to the basement levels," Heero said.

"Come on. I know a back way," Agent Watts said. She turned and motioned for them to follow her. Heero shifted his rifle around to his back and followed Agent Watts with Trowa at his side.

"Have you seen Relena anywhere?" Trowa asked him after they turned a corner and passed through a doorway.

"I just helped her, Dorothy, the President, and Commander Smith get out of the building," Heero said. "They should be okay if Relena can keep talking down the protesters." Trowa smiled.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." Heero glanced at Trowa, but his eyes were back on Agent Watts. Watts stopped and threw open a door. A dark stairwell stretched down below.

"This will take us to a maintenance room in the lower levels," she said. The two followed her into the darkness.

* * *

"Did you defuse that bomb yet?"

"It's not exactly your standard bomb, Wufei," Sally grumbled, shifting through the colored wires, trying to determine which one would stop the bomb from exploding. It was a terrible, homemade job that was making it even more difficult to figure out the right way to defuse without blowing everyone up.

"Come on you," Wufei said, picking one of the rebels at random and yanked him up to his feet. "Help her defuse that bomb," he ordered. The rebel shook his head.

"I don't know how," he said. Wufei glared at him.

"He'll just make it worse if he doesn't know anything," Sally said, dropping her screwdriver and picking up a pair of wire cutters. Wufei pushed the rebel back down on the ground. Outside the door, there was the sound of many footsteps, and Wufei raised his gun, ready to protect Sally if there was another group of rebels. But to his relief, it was more Preventers. Wufei waved them in.

"Get these bastards out of here," Wufei commanded, gesturing to the rebels. The group of Preventers nodded and began to tie the rebels' hands behind their backs with zip ties. One of the Preventers broke away and knelt down beside Sally.

"We found another bomb and managed to defuse it," the young man said to Sally. He pointed into the mess of wires and pointed at the white coated wire. "Cut that one."

Sally reached inside with the wirecutters, closed her eyes, and snipped. Nothing happened, so Sally opened her eyes. The Preventer agent beside her was smiling and pointing at the red blinking light that was no longer blinking. Sally released a long breath.

"Thank you," she said. "You're a lifesaver." She heard Wufei snort, but she ignored him. The agent smiled, rose to his feet and offered a hand to Sally, who gripped it and was pulled to her feet. She glanced at Wufei to see him glowering. She simply grinned.

"Gather up this bomb and put it somewhere safe," Wufei ordered the agent. Sally rolled her eyes and stepped back as the agent bent to collect the bomb. Wufei moved to Sally's side. "Is your communicator working?" he asked, but Sally shook her head.

"It hasn't worked since the second or third bomb went off," Sally said.

"So we don't know if Mars has been caught, or if anyone else is okay?" he asked.

"Correct."

"Let's go, then." Together, they left the room and headed off into the unknown, searching for a madman.

* * *

Agent Watts, Trowa, and Heero searched several lower levels until they reached the fourth lower level floor. Once inside the maintenance room on that floor, they could hear voices outside in the hallway. Watts leaned up against the door and listened.

"I don't think they're our people," she said. Heero and Trowa nodded, lifting up their rifles. Watts stepped back and kicked open the door, surprising the group of rebels that were congregated in the hall.

"Drop your weapons," Watts demanded at them. They glanced at each other, unsure. Trowa released a short spray of bullets at the wall above their heads. The sudden noise spooked the inexperienced rebels, and they dropped down to their knees, a few literally dropping their weapons on the ground. Heero closed his eyes in annoyance. He was sure he'd never been _that _much of an ameteur.

One of the rebels, however, fired off a few shots back at them, forcing the three to back up into the room to avoid getting hit. Watts growled low in her throat, and without warning Trowa and Heero first, she burst out from the maintenance closet and with the butt of her rifle, smashed the rebel in the shoulder. He crumpled to the floor in an unceremonious heap. Trowa and Heero glanced at each other, shrugged, and followed after her. Before leaving the area, they snatched up the weapons from the floor, leaving the terrified rebels on the ground. One was crying.

Watts headed down the hall, leading the way. "If they're on this floor, then Mars is probably in the main command center," she shouted back at them as they ran. She skidded to a halt outside of a large door, where she punched in the access code. The door slid open, revealing several rebels standing in a semi-circle around Mars, who was tinkering with the command console.

"Oh look, you found me," Mars said, turning halfway towards them. He had a wicked smile on his face. "I was just looking at all this interesting information you have stored on your servers."

Heero frowned. He was getting the feeling that Mars was bluffing. Apparently Watts was getting that feeling, too. She snorted.

"Nice try," she said, stepping forward. "There's no way you possess the skills to bypass our security." Mars' smile wavered briefly.

"I'm sure you like to think that," he countered. "Kill them."

Heero, Trowa, and Watts dropped to the floor as a volley of bullets flew at them from the rebels. Beside him, Heero heard Trowa talking to Watts in rapid shouts.

"Get out of here," Trowa said. "Go find Relena."

"I'm not going to leave you two here to get killed."

"We'll be fine."

"No."

"Please, Leigh?"

Watts was silent for a moment, but she nodded. Trowa looked over her head at Heero and nodded. They jumped up together and returned fire while Watts removed herself from danger. Trowa leapt over the rebels and took a few down with a wide kick, sending them to the ground. Heero caught several others in the legs, taking them down with (hopefully) non-fatal injuries. Heero ran past these falling rebels towards Mars while Trowa worked on taking out the last few who were still putting up a fight.

Mars was at least two feet taller than Heero, his bulk making him seem even larger. Heero hated it, but he looked up at the man who was glowering down at him.

"You think you can defeat me?" he asked. "You're just another washed up soldier with no place in this world."

Heero grinned.

"Not all of us refused to accept peace," Heero said.

"So you drank the Peacecraft poison?" Mars asked. "You believe that we can all live together in lovely peace and harmony?"

"I do believe that," Heero said. "It's a shame you don't, because your kind has no place here. There will always be someone fighting for peace." Mars growled.

"Enough."

Mars lunged for Heero, a blade flashing in his hand. Heero moved, almost too slow, as the blade ripped through the fabric of Heero's coat. _I'm not a super soldier anymore_, a voice in his head said. _I can't do this_. Mars moved again, his blade flashing, and Heero had to drop to the ground to dodge him.

Relena's voice echoed in his head. _Feeling sorry for yourself is only useful if you use it to push yourself to change and improve._

_Change yourself and improve. _

Heero pushed himself up from the floor. Keeping himself in a hunch, Heero pushed forward and slammed his shoulder into Mars' abdomen. He knocked the wind out of the taller man. Around him, Heero could hear Trowa fighting with the other rebels.

Mars recovered quickly. With a slight wheeze, he lurched towards Heero once again. This time, Heero dodged and rolled to the side. He gained his footing faster than Mars and gave him a critical kick to the back of his knees, knocking the man down to the ground. Heero jumped on his back and pointed a gun to his head, pressing the barrel against his skull. Mars grunted and tried to throw Heero off of him, but Heero drew back the hammer of his pistol. At this, Mars froze.

"Go ahead and shoot me," he grumbled.

"No," Heero replied. He looked up and caught Trowa's eye, who nodded and headed over to help Heero restrain the rebel.

* * *

Relena surveyed the scene with a slight smile. She didn't really need validation of her work and accomplishments since joining the world of politics, but the readiness that the protesters and rebels showed to join her side was a good reminder that she had touched many more lives than she could possibly know. As soon as the word was spread that Relena Peacecraft was there, the yelling and shouting stopped, the sounds of gunfire dwindled, and the noise softened. Those who were still outside slowly gathered around her in a slumping mob, looking like chastised dogs. She thought it was a little ridiculous, but she said nothing. Instead, she accepted their apologies that they gave without prompt, and began to organize rescue efforts.

Now, there were rebels and protesters working together to find bodies within the rubble of the building, and to help others out of the area, as the structure had been compromised by the numerous bombs. Others were cleaning up the area from the debris that had flown from the building and landed in the streets. Others were collecting litter and protest signs and filling garbage bags. A few were tending to the wounded while waiting for more emergency services personnel to arrive.

"Miss Relena!"

She turned and saw Agent Leigh Watts stumbling through a hole in the side of the building. She was dirty and looked exhausted. Relena smiled to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Trowa sent me to find you," Watts said, glancing around. "Looks like you've got everything in order, though."

"It quickly became clear that these people didn't have a firm grasp on the ideals they were following. They changed their minds pretty quick after I started talking to them," Relena explained. Watts grinned.

"You have that effect on people," she said, causing Relena to blush slightly.

"Where are the others?" Relena asked, glancing away from the young woman and making an attempt to change the subject.

"I left Heero and Trowa to confront Mars," Watts said, the tone of her voice indicating that she wasn't happy about that arrangements. "I'm not sure where Sally and Wufei are."

"I hope they're all okay…" Relena murmured.

* * *

-SE


	34. Chapter 33

Deprogramming  
Chapter 33

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: GUESS WHAT!? I finished writing my original science fiction novel! It's still in an early draft and all that nonsense, but I'm super excited about it. Took me about 2 years total to write, not including a hiatus from when my ex and I broke up. Anyway, YAY! Thanks everyone for being fantastic readers/fans, and I love you all!

* * *

_December 29, A.C. 201_

_1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Relena_

Dorothy approached Relena, her cell phone in her hand.

"I've just heard from the hospital. They think Commander Smith will be alright," she said. Relena exhaled in relief.

"Thank goodness. We don't need to add another tragedy to this situation," Relena said. Dorothy began to speak again, but was interrupted by many people yelling and running across the snow. Both women turned to see a large group of Preventers who'd escaped from the building running back inside.

"What's going on?" Dorothy asked. They jogged to where the Preventers were congregating outside of a door, trying to get inside. Dorothy strode up to one of the nearest agents and tapped him on the shoulder. "Why are you going back in?" she asked.

The man looked at her, nearly giddy with excitement. "They've arrested the rebel leader!" he said. "We're going in to help extract him and some of the others, along with more Preventer agents."

Relena pressed her hands against her chest - a habit she'd tried to break for years.

"Does that mean Trowa and Heero are alright?" she asked.

"I would assume so," Dorothy replied. "We should wait outside," she added when Relena made a move to enter the building as well. "You know it's not safe in there."

"But-"

"Let the Preventers do what they do best," Dorothy commanded.

Relena nodded and allowed herself to be led away from the building. The scene was chaotic with _former_ rebels, _former _protesters, Preventers agents, and emergency personnel. Firefighters were working on the building, collecting remnants of the bombs and putting out the fires. Preventer agents and police were working together to calm the crowd, disperse others, and take down statements of what happened at the building, while the ambulances and doctors helped anyone who was hurt.

In the pocket of her tattered skirt, her phone began to ring. Relena checked the caller ID, and saw that it was Colonel Une. Relena answered the call.

"Miss Relena! What the hell is happening over there!?" Une shouted into the phone. Relena flinched and pulled the phone a few inches from her ear.

"A lot, actually," Relena replied. "But I think it's calming down. We just heard them say that the rebel leader was arrested."

"Why is the HQ on fire?"

"The rebels planted bombs around the building while the rebel leader was meeting with the President," Relena explained. Before she could really finish her sentence, Une asked,

"And the president? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Just shaken up."

"What a mess," Une lamented. "I should have come with you."

"Don't worry, Colonel. There are some extremely competent agents over here," Relena said. "We've already got the situation mostly under control anyway. Now it'll just be clean up."

Une sighed.

"I still don't like being so far away," she said. "This wasn't supposed to escalate this much." Relena couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't think any of us expected any of this," she said. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

"If you say so. I'm arranging to have a Preventer jet come pick you all up the day after tomorrow. That way I can be sure you make it back here without incident," Une said.

"Of course. Thank you."

The women ended the call, and Relena returned her phone to her pocket. Duo and Watts appeared from the crowd and made their way towards Relena.

"The cops have the crowd under control," Duo said. "And they're bringing out Mars now."

"I heard," Relena smiled.

"Look! There's Trowa and Heero!" Watts cried suddenly, pointing at the building, then jogging to join the group of people exiting the building. Both Relena and Duo turned in time to see Trowa and Heero push through the doors, the large rebel leader behind them. Both looked worse for the wear, and Heero was limping slightly, but they were at least in one piece. Relena had to restrain herself from running to Heero when the police detective approached him.

"Heero being the hero," Duo commented. Relena smiled. She was anxious to hear what happened, but there was something she already knew - whatever was causing him to freeze up was gone. He must have realized he was still just a powerful without that blasted chip.

Watts returned a few minutes later. "Miss Relena, the Preventers are moving essential personnel to another location for the rest of the day. Sort of like a safe house. Agent Sally asked me to take you and the others there," Watts said. Relena bit her lip and looked back at Heero. "I promise that the others will be brought back to your location once the police have gotten their statements."

"You need to rest anyway, princess," Duo said, giving Relena a nudge.

"Alright," Relena sighed. With Dorothy and the President, Watts led them away to a waiting car.

* * *

_December 29, A.C. 201_

_2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time_

_Trowa_

Trowa had to admit that seeing Mars carted away in an armored truck was very satisfying. One less person causing trouble for the world was a good thing. And of course, Relena had done a great job dealing with the people outside, turning them back over to the side of reason. Not that there was any question about that.

While he waited his turn to talk to the detective, he looked around. The scene was breaking up now while the Preventers worked to deal with the damage to their building. Trowa wondered how Commander Smith was doing, and hoped he'd be alright.

As Trowa watched, a black car pulled up in front of the building, and a middle-aged woman climbed out, already on the phone. She was wearing casual clothes underneath her Preventer blazer, and her hair was in disarray. The woman reminded Trowa of Une…

"That's our VP of Operations," Watts said from his side. "She was on vacation. They must have pulled her back here to deal with the building."

"Is that why she looks angry?" Trowa asked.

"She always l0oks a little like that," Watts answered with a laugh.

"What will you do while the building is being repaired?" Trowa asked. Watts shrugged.

"We'll probably set up temporary operations somewhere else. We'll relocate the agent quarters, too, I'm sure," she said. "We have a very nice insurance policy, and most of our data is stored off site." Watts stretched her arms over her head. "Maybe I'll take a vacation. I'm overdue."

"Well if you do, come to Europe. You can visit Brussels, and maybe stop by Spain. My circus is down there for a few more weeks putting on shows," Trowa said, feeling his face heat up as he spoke. Watts turned to him, her eyes bright.

"That sounds amazing! I'll have to talk to Commander Smith," Watts said, dropping a hand on Trowa's shoulder. She smiled widely at him. Something tugged in Trowa's chest. His cheeks burned hotter.

* * *

_December 30, A.C. 201_

_11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Heero_

Heero stood beside Relena, trying to keep his eyes open. He'd been with the police detective for most of the night discussing the events of the day, and hadn't gotten back to the temporary location where Relena was staying until almost six in the morning. He'd passed out almost immediately, only to be roused a few hours later to attend the funeral of the Americans ambassador.

The pastor was still speaking while the large group of attendees stood in a semi-circle around the coffin. Heero felt Relena's hand rest on his back, providing him with some much needed support. He glanced at her, and she smiled up at him. She'd promised he could sleep for the rest of the day if he could just make it through the funeral.

Heero glanced around, trying to distract himself to keep his mind active. Commander Smith hadn't been able to attend, as he was still in the intensive care unit at the hospital, but he'd made it through the night without issue, which was a good sign. Heero hoped he'd make a full recovery.

Standing near Relena was Trowa and Agent Watts. Heero narrowed his eyes, noting how - close - the two were standing to each other. Heero wasn't aware that anything had happened between the two, though he wasn't the most observant person when it came to relationships.

The pastor wrapped up the funeral, and the attendees lined up to lay flowers on the lid of the coffin before it was lowered into the ground. Heero was guided along by Relena's hand to stand behind Sally and Wufei. Duo, Trowa, and Watts joined them in a little group.

"The President's jet will be picking him up right after this to take him back to Brussels," Sally whispered. "That will be one less thing to worry about. And Une has us returning tomorrow morning."

"Good," Wufei mumbled. Relena shot him a look, and he turned away.

"Should we really be leaving these guys in the lurch like this?" Duo asked as they shifted forward a few feet. "Won't they need help with this mess?"

"They've got plenty of resources here. This division is one of the larger ones around the globe. They'll be fine," Sally replied. Their group drew nearer to the coffin, so they fell silent. Behind him, Heero could hear Trowa and Watts whispering.

"After we get everything squared away here, I'm taking my vacation. I have about two weeks, so I was thinking I'd head over to Europe and sort of bounce around," Watts was saying.

"That's great," Trowa replied. "I'll send you the information from where we'll be."

"I can't wait to meet your sister. She sounds like a gem," Watts said with a soft chuckle. Heero raised an eyebrow and glanced at Relena, to see if she could hear the conversation. She didn't look at him, but he thought she seemed to be trying to suppress a smile. He nudged her lightly in the arm, and she glanced up, still trying to stop herself from smiling. They were quickly approaching the coffin, so Heero gave her a stern expression, and she nodded, managing to control her facial expression.

As a group, they passed by the coffin, leaving their fingerprints or a flower on the gleaming wood. Heero wished he felt some sympathy for this person about be to buried, but he didn't even know the man. He found it difficult to pretend sadness, and hoped that he wasn't coming off as rude. Though he assumed some might interpret his tired scowl for some appropriate emotion.

Soon, Heero and the others were loaded into cars and on their way back to their temporary lodgings. Everyone in the car looked exhausted, and most were dozing off. Relena seemed to be the only one with any energy left. She was working away on a tablet, and Heero didn't have the mental fortitude to find out what she could possibly be doing.

* * *

_December 31, A.C. 201_

_6:00 AM Eastern Standard Time_

_Duo_

The Brussels Preventers, Relena, and Dorothy were finally read to board the Preventer plane to return home. Duo was hopeful that by arriving back before the New Year's Eve countdown, Hilde might spare him some of her wrath. He didn't much care about the changing of the years, but it was important to her.

Duo sighed and leaned back in the chair. They were still in the terminal, waiting for the final security checks to be completed. Heero was still zoned out and exhausted, his hand resting lightly on the spot where Duo had shot him. Even Duo had to admit to himself that he felt a _little_ bad about it, but he still felt there was some justification for it in their past.

Near the edge of the rows of chairs in the terminal stood Trowa and Watts. They were speaking quietly to each other. Duo narrowed his eyes. Was something going on there? He glanced at Relena, who met his eyes. She smiled knowingly. Duo chuckled to himself. Knowing what he knew about that whole situation, Duo sincerely hoped that Trowa could find some happiness elsewhere. Duo loved Relena, but he also knew that she would forever be stuck on Heero, and he on her.

"We are now ready to board Preventer flight 329 to Brussels, Belgium," the woman at the desk said into the PA. Duo pushed himself up from the chair and joiend the small group of his friends who were boarding. He watched out of the corner of his eye at Watts gave Trowa a rough hug, then shouted good bye at everyone as they disappeared onto the jet bridge.

* * *

_December 31, A.C. 201_

_9:00 PM Central European Time_

_Relena_

Relena didn't think she'd ever been so happy to be walking through the Brussels airport. She was exhausted, and she knew everyone else was, too. Her plans were to head straight home and sleep through the New Year's celebration.

When they exited the airport to the pick-up area, they were greeted by Une and Hilde, waiting with a large Preventer van. Hilde scream and ran to Duo, throwing herself into his arms. Relena could hear her saying something to him, but her voice was muffled by her sobs. Duo held her tightly, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"Thank you for making it back in one piece," Une said, approaching Relena and Heero. Relena dipped her head and smiled.

"I've certainly had enough adventure for a long time," Relena said.

"So you'd turn down an offer if I made you one?" Une asked, an eyebrow raised, and Relena very much hoped that Une was joking. She laughed to make sure, and Une just smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here." Une herded the group into the van and sat down in the driver's seat.

Une dropped Heero and Relena off at her townhouse and sped away to drop off the others. Heero helped carry Relena's things inside and together they collapsed on the couch. It felt oddly normal, like they'd just gotten home from a long vacation. Home.

Relena tilted her head towards Heero.

"I never did say how proud of you I am," she said. Heero smiled.

"That's good to hear," he replied. "It was mostly because of you. I've always said that you're stronger than me."

"Oh, don't start that," Relena said playfully, giving him a gentle push. Heero grabbed her hand and pulled her over on the couch until she was sitting on his lap. His dark blue eyes gazed up at her.

"But it's true, and I want you to know it," he said. Relena opened her mouth to protest, but instead, he captured her lips with his, drawing her body closer to him. In the back of her mind, she let it go, knowing that now, she'd have plenty of time to try and convince him otherwise, and he'd have plenty of time to refute her again and again.

THE END

-SE


End file.
